Kage of the Squad
by Shobu556
Summary: After becoming Hokage and the second coming of the Sage of six paths, Naruto is sent to another world after fighting a mysterious man. Now he must find a place in a world that is so different yet so similar to his own, all while keeping himself from losing his grip on reality. SixPathsSage, mature, slightly smarter Naruto. Not perfect, gary-stu. NO HAREMS
1. Squad, meet Maelstrom

**Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or the Suicide Squad, they belong to Kishimoto and DC respectively**

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

" **Jutsu/technique"**

' **Bijuu speech/** _ **thoughts'**_

 **Location/scene change**

XXXXXXX

 **Belle Reve Penitentiary; Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana; 1 am, August 26, 2016**

Deadshot groaned as the banging on his cell door grew louder. He rolled over yet again in an attempt to ignore them as he tried to go back to sleep. "Don't these guys know it's too damn early for this?" he mumbled tiredly.

The noise stopped. It looked like he would get his wish until a loud bang sounded in his cell as the door was sent flying into the adjacent wall. Deadshot sat bolt upright looking at the doorway to see Waylon Jones, aka Killer Croc, standing with his right fist extended.

"The hell was that for!?"

Croc grunts as he brings his arm back to his side "Warden wants to see us Floyd."

Floyd Lawton, aka Deadshot, is a master assassin and gun for hire. Never missed a target until meeting the Batman and being put into Belle Reve with the rest of the now dubbed Suicide Squad. "Next time just say please. You know I hate being disturbed like this now."

Croc shook his head, the motion making his scales ripple slightly sending a chill up the spines of whoever sees it.

The pair walked in relative silence with their escort to the prison's courtyard. Ever since that first foray as a 'team' they hadn't seen much of the outside world aside from the occasional 'vacation' to the courtyard for basic exercise, Deadshot's monitored visits with his daughter, and Croc and Harley getting…whatever it was that they had wanted. The only member who didn't get anything special was Boomerang, and he is just crazily sitting in his cell all day every day. Even after only being inside their cells for a few days the light still managed to blind them as the guards opened the doors to the outside world. Already in attendance were Rick Flag, the teams 'legal' guide and leader, Harley Quinn, the psychotic ex-psychiatrist who was recaptured after breaking out with the Joker, and Katana, the chick with a sword that steals souls.

"We still waiting for Captain?" Deadshot asks as he and Croc get in line with the others. Flag shook his head as four of his men brought a wildly squirming bag out to the center.

"Soon as he stops squirming then we will proceed." Flag says tiredly as they hear muffled shouts coming from the bag. He gives it a swift kick to silence him. "We wouldn't have to go through this if you would just cooperate with us."

Deadshot swore he could hear Boomerang give a smartass comment before Flag had one of his guys unzip the bag and let the crazy aussie out…who immediately punches the soldier in greeting.

"Lunatic." He mutters getting a chuckle from Croc and a smirk from Katana.

Flag pinches the bridge of his nose and sighs "Alright," he pulls out a tablet "you know the drill."

The grim face of Amanda Waller, their warden and benefactor, came on screen. "I did not think that I would need to bring you all out this soon but the situation demands it. Five hours ago a portal opened in the sky over Jump City, street camera's and other devices show footage of what appears to be a large orange fox with nine tails landing in the center of the city and slowly walking towards the outer limits. Just half an hour ago military forces arrived to investigate and have since enraged the beast."

"And you want us to do what about that?" Boomerang asked with a raised hand, the only one visibly shaken at what they might be facing.

Waller gave him a deadpan look "I want you to go into the city, find this thing and evaluate it."

"Like an audition for the team you mean?" Deadshot said having caught on to how she was phrasing it "You're hoping that this thing can join the Suicide Squad and help you out, is that it?"

"In a manner of speaking. You all know what is at stake should this creature be a threat that we can't control or contain. Keep casualties to a minimum, and you can expect more privileges to be given and yes Mr. Digger that includes you. Will there be any other questions?"

Croc raised his hand "What if we can't stop this thing or recruit it?"

Waller looked down briefly before looking back up to address the team "Then Jump City, and anything near it, will be destroyed and this incident erased from all records private or public. Is that understood?"

Flag sighed as she signed off. _'Another day at the office'_ he thought. "You all heard the lady, we got a job to do so let's get to it."

 **Jump City, California; 3 am, August 27, 2016**

"Fall back! Fall back!" was the resounding cry across the forest. Less than a mile in front of the fleeing soldiers was the city they had been fighting desperately to protect. Each one had tried and failed to so much as scratch the beast. Tanks, snipers, missiles, bullets, nothing could phase it. The beast raised its head releasing a terrible roar that shook the ground and shattered glass for miles. It bought one of its fore paws down, slamming it into the ground, releasing a shockwave that brought trees, buildings, and people to the ground. With the swish of one of its nine tails a helicopter was sent crashing into the dirt below.

To the beast they were insects to swat aside, but they had only provoked him in his slumber as he tried to heal from his entry into this world.

' **Run, and do not stop for a second ningen.'** It growled mentally as it snarled at their retreating forms before its form shifted slightly giving it the appearance of a glowing orange and black striped fox.

Inside the head of the fox stood a man whose own body was covered in the same energy as the fox. He groaned as he clutched his head in pain "Kurama? Kami, what hit me? I feel like I took one of Granny's punches without any chakra to protect me."

' **Quit your whining!'** Kurama growled **'We managed to escape but we aren't finished yet. This world, while pitiful, hasn't been so…welcoming to me trying to heal you.'**

The fox growled in annoyance as his container ignored his warning **'Na-ru-to!'**

"What!?" Naruto shouts aloud "My heads killing me here Kurama, geez, lower the volume."

' **I would if you would pay attention. We have the largest group fleeing no thanks to you,'**

"I was out cold."

' **There is a smaller group heading this way.'**

"How many?" Naruto asked now alert and in 'ninja mode'

' **Six. They appear to be moving in formation, one is in the middle, one at the front, two to each side, and two covering the rear.'**

Naruto closed his eyes and began to meditate. Gathering his chakra, what little he currently had, he sent a small amount into the earth to act as a pulse to help him sense his surroundings. His eyes shot open "There's no chakra here!"

Kurama scoffed **'Of course there isn't any chakra here you idiot. We aren't in your home world any longer.'**

"Could've told me that sooner y'know!" he growled as he felt his chakra reserves rising. "Still haven't recovered fully yet. How much would you say we have?"

' **Roughly forty percent of our maximum chakra has returned.'**

"So a twenty each then…great." Naruto sighed as he released his hold on his Tailed Beast Mode. The orange chakra construct dissipating as the head lowers to the ground below him. "Guess we wait for them to make the first move then."

' **Don't get over confident. We don't know if these will be the 'Shinobi' of this world or not.'**

"Roger."

The Squad was at a bit of a crossroads, literally. To the right was a simple suburb, untouched by any of the action from earlier, to the left were several tanks; guns trained on the hill leading up to the forest outside of the city, behind them were the retreating soldiers, and in front was the only path leading to their target.

"Before we get started, would anyone like to explain why we are doing this again?"

"We do this, we get rewarded, don't do it and we all die." Croc growls as he starts to pick up something.

"Got a scent Croc?" Flag asks as he loads his rifle.

"Yeah, smells…odd."

"Odd? It's a bloody fox! It should smell like a fox!" Boomerang cries out.

Deadshot rolls his eyes as the big man continues "Smells human, there is something in the air too…smells like nature, and frogs."

"Riight, so we have a giant fox to find and he only smells frogs, trees, and some poor sod who is up there with the fox." Deadshot sighs "What now Flag?"

"We continue the mission. Up that hill is our target, now we have to go and greet them." The soldier marched off up the road, the squad reluctantly following behind him. Harley and Boomerang stood just in front to his left and right respectively, Katana the ever vigilant watchdog stood between the two while Deadshot and Croc had Flags back. Since dealing with Enchantress and getting his girlfriend June back, Flag had to admit he had a new found respect for the criminals under his command. Granted he wouldn't fully trust any of them except for Katana for the obvious reason of she not being a criminal but that could change in a few years, or decades given how unhinged Boomerang was.

"So how do we know if we can communicate with this thing? Not like it'll speak English or Japanese." Boomerang spoke as they neared the top of the hill.

"Soldiers reported they could hear something, almost akin to laughter coming from the fox. If we are lucky," Flag says "it might be able to speak to us."

Deadshot rolled his eyes as he and Croc watched the rear, nothing exciting happening behind their group, just soldiers running around panicked. This mission so far was a drag; a giant fox that could stop the military with ease had appeared from a portal in the sky, and right as they get to its location suddenly it decides to vanish on them. Typical.

"Something better happen because I deserve some action after y'all woke me up at this ungodly hour." Deadshot grumbles as he backs into Boomerang "Now what!?" the assassin turns around to scold or beat his teammate for stopping but the words die in his mouth as he stares at a lone, golden, flaming, man.

Boomerang shook as he watched the flames dance on the man's body. To the squad they were reminded of El Diablo and his control over fire but this, this was something else entirely. The man stood with a confidence, almost arrogance, to him that seemed to both relax and put on edge the squad. With a quick glance to his pseudo-family he realized that he wasn't the only one who was having slight flashbacks or was intimidated.

"S'pose he's friendly?" he asked snapping the Squad out of their own thoughts.

"Call it Flag." Deadshot said in a serious tone as he trained his own guns on the unidentified man.

Flag gulped as he stepped forward, motioning for Katana to follow him closely "Hold your fire for now. Hopefully we can find out where the creature went, if he tries anything you have permission to engage."

Croc let out a deep laugh as Boomerang and Deadshot made certain they had an angle on their new 'friend'.

' **Judging by the way they are moving, I would say one of the two coming towards us is the leader, the other is the bodyguard.'**

"Noticed that too huh? Then the guys on the sides must be moving to strike if I attack. Smart." Naruto grinned as his first meeting with people in this new world began. The man carried himself like a trained shinobi, he clearly had some form of training and must have been the leader. The woman on the other hand was slightly harder to get a read of, she looked like some sort of ninja crossed with a samurai from his world but Naruto couldn't for the life of him figure out if she was an actual threat to him or a well-hidden spy perhaps.

Flag raised one his hands, giving the others an order to stay on standby, he tried to use what little of his kindness that Amanda Waller hadn't beaten out of him to earn the man's trust. "Sir? I am Col. Rick Flag, with the US Army, I'd like to ask you a few questions; if that's alright with you?"

The man tilted his head to the side, giving Flag a look of curiosity. Was he unable to understand him or did he just not care? He watched the man as he pulled out from behind him some sort of scroll, unrolling it the man got to work messing with these strange symbols on it. He bit his thumb and slammed his palm into the scroll, Flag had to wave off Deadshot and Boomerang as the scroll actually released smoke. As the smoke began to dissipate he and Katana could again see the man, but this time he was sitting down with a brush in one hand, ink bowl at his side and was making those strange symbols onto a piece of paper.

"What the hell is he doing?" Flag whispered to Katana who could only shrug in response.

' **That girl is studying you.'** Kurama notifies Naruto as he goes about making a translation seal from, scratch **'She looks a little more intelligent than those others with her.'**

Naruto grunts in response both to Kurama and to annoy the two watching him as he works. The seal had a stable base, and the transition isn't that bad for the purpose but what he still needed was a place to put it.

"Watashi wa watashi no mune ya kubi ni kore o oku hitsuyō ga arimasu ka? Sorera ni ponpingu mase chakura wa tsuneni miete kara sorera o tamotsubekide wa arimasen."

Flag blinked. So he does talk. "Sounds like Japanese, Katana, mind translating?"

The samurai got closer to the man, curiously watching his movements with the brush as he seemed to finish his work with a cry of "Yes!" and slammed the piece of paper onto his chest, the symbol seeming to melt off it and latch onto him.

"Did it work? Tell me it worked Kurama" Katana was surprised to hear him now speaking English. Even more surprisingly he sounded like an over eager child than a grown man. She looked back at Flag and jerked her head to get him to come closer.

"So…about those questions." He started awkwardly as the flaming man looked up at him "You wouldn't have happened to have seen a giant fox would you?"

"Fox?" the man asked "Did it have orange fur? Nine tails? And was it a real grouch about being bothered?"

"Uh…" Flag and Katana shared a look "Yeah."

"Nope. Haven't seen him. I did run into some guys who were…a little eager to attack first though."

Flag sighed. And now it gets complicated. The man obviously knew something from his little jokes but he knew from experience that if he were even slightly like the Squad then he would NOT be getting anything out of him. "I am going to make a call. Katana, keep an eye on him."

Naruto watched the man that was questioning him albeit poorly walk a few feet away from him and the woman. Turning his attention to said sword wielding individual he was a little wary as she kept moving around him looking for the seal he had placed on his chest. He chuckled "You aren't going to find my seal, those things depending on how they are made won't show up unless I pump chakra into them and this one doesn't require chakra to work."

"Chakura? Chakura to wa nanidesu ka?"

Naruto scratched his head for an answer. It had been a while since h had to give a lesson but one like this might require a more practical demonstration that he just couldn't give right now.

"I'll explain that to you later, I promise, but for now I need some rest." His golden flaming form flickered and died "First lesson about chakra; it will need to recharge at some point."

If Katana were honest he was different than she had expected him to be. Though subtle she could notice how he had yet to drop his guard even after saying he was tired. The man wore blue sandals, grey armor covering his forearms and calves, a green flak jacket with several pouches on it, black pants, and a white haori with a flame design along the bottom was worn over his flak jacket and a headband hung around his neck with a symbol in the center resembling a leaf. He was…different.

Flag sighed tiredly. It was only 4 am and now he was being ordered as expected to bring in this new mystery man. Who for some reason wasn't on fire now? 'Great, more paperwork to do later' he thought as his team slowly approached the man "Listen up, mission's a failure. Without the fox Waller is going to have this place under surveillance round the clock until she finds it. And, seeing as how our new friend here has some form of abilities we get to bring him in."

The group (mostly Boomerang) groaned collectively. Katana was quiet if only to not get on the man's bad side so she could learn about chakra. Croc and Deadshot were mostly quiet but the pair did have their own reservations about bringing an unknown, especially one who hadn't committed a crime yet, to their little 'home'. Harley however had no such reservations and was all but bouncing in her seat on the flight home asking him all sorts of questions.

"Are you an alien? What happened to the fire? Why is your hair so spiky? And what is up with the whiskers?"

Naruto tried to lean as far from the crazy woman as he could. With a nervous chuckle he tried to calm her down first "In order; no, not actual fire, genetics, and also genetics…I think."

Harley seemed to deflate that he had answered her so quickly and hadn't tried to hide anything. And if he did she couldn't tell what it was or where it was. Flag watched as the Joker's Queen sat back in her seat with a pout on her face. So far, the guy hadn't been a problem and even better he could get Harley to behave without getting violent. That might be a good and bad thing for them in the long run.

"So what's your name?" Boomerang asked sensing some tension. "You got to have one, right?"

The man chuckled good naturedly "Names Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze. I am the Seventh Hokage of Konohagakure no Sato," Naruto looked down as he said this "or at least I was."

"Kono-what?" Deadshot asked confused at the same time Flag asks "Was?"

Naruto nods his head slowly "My village, The Village Hidden in the Leaves, was my home for all of my life. Before I came here, we had…finished one conflict and were enjoying the peace that followed. I was alerted to an individual who was not a typically trader and acted accordingly."

"So what happened?" Croc asked with a slight growl in his voice.

"I was beaten by him in combat obviously." Naruto had a faint smile on his face "I fought him and won but he managed to get the last laugh. I imagine when I arrived there was a portal, yes?"

Flag tensed "Correct."

"That's what he made. I believe with his passing it closed and I was the only one to come through, otherwise I would have been found by now."

"So this Hokagay thing..." Deadshot tries to ask only to be corrected by Naruto.

"Hokage."

"Right. What is that exactly?"

"Where I come from there are five villages that are the most powerful. Each village is led by a Kage, the leader of my village is called a Hokage which means Fire Shadow. Each Kage is the strongest of the village, most of my predecessors could do something that most couldn't."

Flag raised an eyebrow "Most what? You've been generous in divulging information about your world, origins and some abilities but have yet to say what you were."

Naruto smirked and turned to the soldier "Shinobi."

That one word had Katana catch her breath. Not only were the languages similar enough for them to communicate but their cultures were close as well. Ninja in Japan were exceptionally skilled but judging by what Naruto had said his might be even more dangerous.

"See, the Shodaime Hokage was the creator and co-founder of the village. He was Hashirama Senju, and had the wood-style bloodline. They called him the God of Shinobi. His brother, Tobirama Senju, became the Nidaime Hokage or Second Hokage. He had this godlike control over the water, he could pull it out of thin air to create a jutsu."

"Jutsu?" Katana asked having been rather enthralled with the story thus far.

"Sorry, did I not explain that? Jutsu are techniques we can perform using chakra, there are jutsu for each type of element as well as situation." Naruto explains.

"And chakra is what exactly?" Boomerang asks slowly being drawn in as well to the blonde's story.

"Chakra is an energy we generate. It consists of physical and spiritual energies mixing evenly. I can give you guys a better explanation tomorrow when I can show you a few tricks of the trade."

Flag made mental notes. Naruto had only been with them for an hour and already had gotten the attention of the crazy and spastic Boomerang, the silent and mostly cold Katana, Croc and Deadshot even showed slight interest in his story. The only one who was interested that had been silent was Harley who seemed both curious and worried if Flag was reading her expressions correctly. But something didn't sit right with him; how could any of this be true? If it was the truth then that meant Naruto had no idea how to keep anything secret unless he knew he was playing with a full deck and had all the cards in his hand. If that were true then he could easily just wipe them out and move on with his life here as an enigma, right?

"Now we get to the fun ones. So the Sandaime Hokage, Hiruzen Sarutobi, was a student of the Second and mentor to a team of three legendary shinobi back home. He was called the Professor, and was basically the second God of Shinobi after Hashirama but the old man was pretty strong from what I heard." Naruto continued with a fond smile on his face.

"Old man?" Deadshot asked amusement evident on his face and in his voice.

"Yeah," Naruto nodded reminiscing "Jiji was my surrogate grandfather growing up. Always encouraged me to be a ninja. He died when I was a fresh ninja out of the academy, went out fighting in an invasion to defend us all." Naruto looked pained. Guilty even as he held back tears "But hey, let's keep going, yeah? Next comes the second best after yours truly. The Yondaime Hokage, Minato Namikaze, the Yellow Flash. Fastest shinobi of his time and my father."

"So it is hereditary." Flag mused.

Naruto shook his head "Not at all though it looks like it. Dad was taught by a student of the third and achieved renown in the Third Ninja World War. Only shinobi until myself and a friend of mine to reach the rank of SS and he gave his life to protect the village from a terrible monster."

Kurama huffed even though he knew Naruto meant Obito and not himself. **'Filthy Uchiha, should've stayed dead.'**

"Sounds like he was quite the guy" Deadshot says with a grin "Must've been nice having a hero for a father."

"Yeah," Naruto sighed "It…was."

The once talkative blonde sobered up after that. The remainder of their flight was spent in relative silence. Boomerang tapping one of his weapons against the vacant seat beside him, Croc occasionally letting out a low growl in his throat, Harley tapping her fingers together and the occasional word between Katana and Naruto. There were some things that Deadshot was certain of: Croc possibly ate one of his early guards when he got to the prison, Boomerang and Harley were the living definitions of crazy, Waller scared the hell out of him and Katana was a little closer to the blonde than he had seen her be with anyone or thing other than her sword. Weird.

 **Belle Reve; Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, 5 am, August 27, 2016**

"Not only did you fail to find the fox but you also failed to get any vital information out of our new guest. Is that correct?"

Flag gulped. The Squad had been escorted back to their cells, Katana was watching Naruto out in the courtyard with multiple guards positioned around the walls to keep an eye on the blonde ninja. He knew that Waller wouldn't like what he had to report. Even if he had brought in a potential ally with abilities that could reshape the battlefield to his favor, Flag was uncertain if Naruto would be enough for Waller to not fire him.

"Ma'am?"

"Yes Colonel?"

"With all due respect, Naruto Uzumaki is an unknown but the level of detail in his story shows that he has some power. Whether he is telling the truth about chakra and all the rest of it or not he has some power that we could use."

Waller contemplated his response. He wasn't wrong; that kind of detail could only come from someone who had been planning it for a long time or had lived it. Given how the story had little details about individuals and places that most would ignore in place of just focusing on their home. She had to admit that keeping Mr. Uzumaki under her watch was better than leaving him alone to do whatever he wants.

"Get some rest Rick, you'll need it in the days to come." Amanda says as the Colonel nods his head before leaving her alone to think in her office. She brought up what she knew about the current meta-human population on the planet. Not much when compared to the likes of Superman but it was just enough to be a threat. Currently only four individuals stood out as possible threats, one of them being the Batman aka Bruce Wayne. Finding out his identity wasn't easy but with a little digging into some finances, a few body size comparisons, voice recognition and she had a seventy-five percent match that Bruce Wayne was the Batman.

Naruto sat with his legs crossed as he tried gathering a small amount of nature energy to help speed up his recovery. It hadn't been a whole day since his arrival and if time worked the same here as it did in his world then it still wasn't a full twenty-four hours since his fight. He knew he and Kurama had enough chakra between them to fight for a prolonged period of time but he really wished they had their full power now. His current predicament wasn't all bad though. The translation seal wasn't perfect but it was good enough to understand the English language. The only thing bugging Naruto was that Katana had yet to actually say a word to him and she wouldn't stop watching him like a hawk. It was getting creepy, like Orochimaru smiling creepy.

"If you have something on your mind, just ask and I will try to answer to the best of my ability." He says calmly as he cancels the flow of nature energy to his body "I _did_ promise to give you a demonstration earlier after all."

Katana seemed to snap out of a trance. Naruto chuckled to himself as she shook her head and glared firmly at him. "Dobe." She grumbled in a manner reminiscent of Sasuke. There was someone that Naruto hadn't thought of since he arrived here; his friend and rival was the only person from his world who he wished hadn't been his enemy. At the end of the Fourth War they had met one final time as enemies in battle, Naruto hated to do it but the only way to end the fight without anyone else being dragged into it or killing Sasuke was to use the Sage's power. While Sasuke gained the Rinnegan Naruto had the Sage's chakra and some of his abilities. What no one knew was that when he gained the chakra Naruto had smaller portions of the other Bijuu's chakra inside of him. This created the perfect system inside his body for him to unlock not only the Sage's abilities, but become an incomplete jinchūriki to the Juubi; to that end Naruto had an ability that made Kaguya so dangerous in battle. He could absorb chakra. Sasuke didn't even have the chance to ask for forgiveness before Naruto had absorbed all of his chakra and left him as one of the few in the world who had none in their bodies. Along with this new chakra, Naruto had become almost like a god; he had the Sage's abilities and chakra, was the pseudo-jinchūriki of the ten tails and now possessed the Rinnegan and Eternal Mangekyō Sharingan.

"You reminded me of a friend of mine just now, except, he wasn't as loyal as you seem to be Katana." Naruto smiled as he managed to shock the woman with words "If I had to guess he is still trying to find a way to surpass me. Pity he won't ever find me again."

Flag walked over to the pair with a small grin forming on his lips. Seeing Katana finally lose some part of her composure without making her look fragile, something that he thought would never happen given how stoic she usually is. "Still feel up to giving us _all_ a demonstration Naruto?"

"Do you want to be the one who wakes everyone up after they've had an hour to sleep? Because I don't."

Flag sighed. He wouldn't be the one to wake up Croc but he would be the one to explain to Waller why one of their men had been eaten by the cannibal. "Alright fine, we'll give them another hour but then you will be giving us a show. Got it?"

"Yeah yeah, just keep your stars and stripes on." Naruto turned back to Katana "So, what up with the sword? I don't mean to pry, I know it has to be something personal since you prefer it to any of the weapons the others use but I can sense its giving off some strange energy."

"You can sense her sword?" Flag asked incredulously "How is that possible?"

Naruto shrugs "Consider it one of my gifts. It's like there are numerous people in it, too many signatures to tell which is which. Could be its messing with my senses or it just has that much power behind it."

Flag and Katana share a quick look. A silent message being exchanged between them with Naruto watching intently.

"So, it is the blade then?" Naruto notes getting surprised looks from the pair "And it houses souls, am I right?"

"How much do you know exactly?" Flag asks as he slowly reaches for his gun and Katana for her…katana.

Naruto shakes his head "Only what I just said. I don't know why it is causing such distress but it is what I sense. So the question is, how much are you both going to share with me?"

Flag took a quick glance to Katana for her signal to speak. While he wasn't her subordinate this was her secret to share and he wasn't about to overstep his boundaries with that. She seemed to relax but refused to say anything. "It's a…touchy subject, best leave it at that."

"Fair enough. We all have something that we aren't comfortable speaking of with present company." Naruto stood up "I think now is as good a time as any for that demonstration, yeah?"

(15 minutes, and ten clones later)

Flag was impressed to say the least. Naruto had surprised him again by making twenty identical copies of himself. Shadow Clones he called them; perfect copies and completely solid. He watched as the clones ran off to gather the squad, somehow Naruto seemed to know when one was destroyed as he would flinch and relay who and what had killed them. Apparently Croc and Boomerang weren't that happy about being awakened. Fortunately none of his men were harmed and somehow the Squad was all here a little eager to see what the blonde could do.

"So…uh, what should I start with?" Naruto asks sheepishly "I've never had to do something like this for anyone before, most people could do this stuff already so there wasn't a point to it."

"How about you start with something basic and work your way up?" Deadshot suggests "Best way to teach is to start small then go up to the more complicated stuff."

Naruto nods his head and forms a cross with his hands. "Right. **Shadow Clone Jutsu!"** In a puff of smoke three identical copies of Naruto appeared surrounding him. The blonde grinned seeing the slack jawed reactions they had to his signature move. "Suicide Squad, meet my shadow clones, identical solid copies of myself down to the smallest of details. Very few things will be able to tell the difference."

Boomerang rubbed his eyes and blinked a few times, trying to make sense of how the blonde had gone from one to three. "I must be out of my bloody mind, now there's four of him."

"Just noticing that you're insane Boomerang? Little slow there captain." Deadshot taunts as he watches the Naruto's for any subtle differences. They were pretty good copies, not a physical trait out of place, or a change in how they carried themselves compared to the original. "Pretty impressive Blondie but what use are they other than extra hands in a fight?"

Naruto grinned at the gunman "Easy, unlike the regular clones, and their ability to be almost identical to me in every way, Shadow Clones transfer memories back to the original and the other clones upon being dispelled." Naruto hit the clone on his left over the head with his fist causing it to dispel in a smoke cloud. Almost instantly the other clones groaned as they rubbed their heads, turning to glare at their originator. "Part of the problem with Shadow Clones is that they can have minds of their own so it really doesn't do to use them unless in a controlled environment."

"Controlled? We're in a prison with a bunch of criminals!" Clone #1 shouts waving his arms wildly. The other nods its head sagely causing Naruto's brow to twitch.

"They also tend to talk back a lot." He begins focusing chakra into his right hand "Which brings me to the next jutsu to show. This one is perfect for your line of work Deadshot, it's an assassination technique my second sensei, Kakashi Hatake, made."

The onlookers were intrigued, none more than Deadshot, at the prospect of what sort of technique it would be. They watched as Naruto's right hand was covered in electricity. Judging by how his face wasn't scrunched up in pain the lightning wasn't harming his body, that or it made the nerves so numb he couldn't tell if he was in pain or not. Naruto launched his arm forward, stabbing the clone in front of him in the back. Deadshot and Boomerang watched with something akin to curiosity and satisfaction as the clone's body stiffened then dispelled.

"That is the **Raikiri** or **Lightning Blade** that my sensei made. When used up close it is rather hard to miss or even defend against however over a distance the technique is much harder to use." Naruto explains "Best used for assassinations of course."

"Why would it be hard to use that at a distance?" Harley asks speaking up for the first time "Looks pretty good from here whiskers."

"Currently I only know of one way to use it from a distance and that is to just run at my target which requires a high speed so they can't react but creates tunnel vision making it hard to change direction if necessary."

"So what are you going to do about that other one?" Croc says with a nod to the remaining clone.

Naruto looks at his more than disgruntled clone in thought. "Well, I had planned to just show another jutsu…maybe…give me just a moment."

Naruto held out his right hand palm facing up. Slowly at first they watched as energy began swirling around it forming a ball that looked like it was spinning at a high speed in the palm of his hand. Naruto turned suddenly and slammed the ball into his clone's stomach, sending it flying in a spiral through the air before dispelling as it crashed into the far wall.

"That was my father's technique, one he made himself, the **Rasengan**. It acts just as simply as you all saw, mostly cause's internal injuries that can be severe at higher levels but if you mix an element with it, well…I wouldn't recommend letting it connect with anything valuable." Naruto sheepishly chuckled seeing some of the stunned looks from the guards. The squad were mostly amazed though Harley still looked crazed and Katana was still stoic as ever.

"Impressive stuff Naruto. I think we can safely say that you will fit right in with us." Flag gave him a grin "You all have the day off, best enjoy it while it lasts, we don't know when we'll be called in again."

The Squad let out small cheers in their own ways as they went about their own business and freedom. Naruto watched Katana walk out of the courtyard curiously. He assumed that she would interact with her team but a shake of Flag's head kept him from following after her.

"Don't take it personally; Katana isn't the most…sociable of the team but, she is the most dependable." Flag explains with a shrug "Give her time and she might just open up to all of us some more."

Naruto couldn't help but snort "Yeah? And I bet the boss lady will be kinder to me too."

' **Don't tempt fate Naruto, last thing we need is you being put in a situation you can't handle.'** Kurama mentally warns.

'Not like I couldn't handle anything that comes my way here.'

 **AN: This version of Naruto is more mature and only slightly smarter, he is still too trusting and other than being willing to show some of his abilities he has not lost his core traits completely. I took the liberty of looking up a few things on the wiki and read a few fics in case I missed anything. At most things that are not mine would be the property of kishimoto which most people, myself included, can't stand how it ended. All I have done is tweak the sage's abilities a little allowing Naruto as explained above, the ability to absorb chakra like Kaguya and several others could in the anime, only catch is since Naruto has the sage's chakra, regaining the other half would grant him full power. He won't be god-like. That is stupid, believe me, he will be beaten but it won't be easily. He is not going to be unstoppable or perfect the entire time. Don't believe me? I intend to have the first few chapters set him up as a hero among the team, a few small missions, a minor feat that has so far been left untouched and then afterward he'll face a challenge in the form of my favorite bad-ass. Pairing is open to debate, personally I'm trying to expand this section and Katana so far never is without Boomerang but I won't decide until we are further along in plot for relationships to occur. Leave your choice or choices (no harems) in a review and around ch 3-6 I will set up a poll to see what you guys are into, just give logical reasoning. And again...NO HAREMS!**


	2. The Hunt Begins

Upload date: 9-7-2016

 **Disclaimer: I own not a thing except for OC's, and some original plot of mine.**

 **PS. Anything that isn't in English was made using google translate due to lack of Japanese translator or dictionary**

 _Really surprised by the following to this after one chapter. 20 reviews, though some I will ignore due to lack of relevance, 97 favorites, 118 follows and 1,493 views as I post this. Current choices for pairing that are explained: Poison ivy, Katana, Duela Dent from Earth-3, Death and Paula Nguyen from Earth-16_

 _Want your pairing as a possibility give a girl and explain why, don't just tell me it'd be great or whatever, kay?_

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

" **Jutsu/technique"**

' **Biju speech/** _ **thoughts'**_

 **Location/scene change**

XXXXXXX

 **Metropolis, Delaware; 9:42 pm, September 30** **th** **, 2016**

"I'll talk! I'll talk!" a man screams in the night as he is slammed against a wall rather roughly. Johnathon Quinn was not the brightest criminal in Metropolis but he was bright enough to know that if he played the game carefully he wouldn't get caught by the police. Crime soared in the months following the death of Superman and he wasn't about to be cut out of this prime opportunity. Occasionally you'd hear stories about the Bat passing through but he couldn't be in two places at once, otherwise he'd be here more often. Tonight was supposed to be like any other night. Soon as it gets dark he'd slip out and meet up with one of his buddies for a job they were hired to do, they'd finish before the cops show up and then they get paid. Easy right? Wrong. He had just gotten out of the museum they had robbed when this guy in a mask caught him.

"Good, tell me what you know about Leslie Willis." The masked man growled.

"T-the radio chick? She was struck by lightning back in February right?"

Johnathon was pulled toward the man and then slammed back into the wall. "If I wanted basic information you could find online I would have googled her you moron! Now TALK!"

Johnathon swore he could see the guy's nails become sharper as he roared in his face "Okay! Okay she goes by Livewire now! She was looking for some guys to cause a few robberies so she could do something big without being disturbed!" he was crying now feeling the nails dig into his skin through his shirt "That's all I know, I swear!"

The masked man dropped him unceremoniously to the ground and brought a finger up to his ear "You get all that? This doesn't seem right, whole thing is too far out of her area of expertise…I know…I got him right here for pick up, shouldn't have more than a few thousand dollars' worth of valuables in his briefcase…Thing is heavy-duty, most likely a larger supplier than Willis could get herself."

Johnathon had slowly been crawling away from the man as he spoke to someone. He knew this guy wasn't the bat but his methods matched some of the rumors he had heard about him before. He rolled over as he began crawling faster before bumping head first into a pair of large legs.

"Look what I caught." Croc growled as he picked the man up "Trying to run? I can't help myself when you run, might just…have a sample."

"Put him down Croc, we're done with him and the police are only five minutes out." The masked man says as the large, Croc, man drops him to the ground "Don't feel bad though, he won't be going anywhere."

Johnathon awoke five minutes later tied and gagged with the briefcase at his feet and five officers standing around him. He didn't care what they did to him, just as long as he never met those two again.

Several blocks away on a rooftop Killer Croc and his partner were taking a short break as they waited for the signal to proceed to the next phase of the mission. They were tasked with gathering information on Leslie Willis, an individual who had an encounter with Superman in the months prior to his death who also went missing shortly afterward. Rumors said that she now had powers and was beginning to become a threat to the public of the surrounding area. Waller already sent Deadshot and Flag to Gotham to investigate there and in Flag's case see if he could meet with Batman on the matter. Katana and Boomerang were currently shadowing a possible contact of their target by the docks.

"So, how long do you think we'll have to wait for the signal, Naruto?"

Naruto chuckled as he removed his blank ANBU mask "Don't know big guy. Could be minutes or hours depending on who screws up this time. No doubt in my mind that it'll be Boomerang."

Croc snorts in amusement as he shakes his head. Considering the delicate nature of this mission he wondered if Harley should have come instead but given that Gotham was where they'd be it wouldn't due for her to be anywhere near the Clown again. "Can't be too long then; Boomerang won't be able to resist showing off for Katana."

Naruto grumbled something to himself as he mentally counted down to when the idiot would screw up. Kurama chuckled alongside Croc as the blonde seemed to be a little agitated by the Aussie's open affection for the team's samurai. Naruto's head snapped to attention as he received the coded message.

"Time to move."

"We got her then?" Croc stood up beside Naruto "Where are we going?"

"Katana and Boomerang have confirmation of Livewire being in Gotham, all we need to do is catch her by surprise. Grab on, it will be faster if we do this my way."

Croc growled in dissatisfaction "You using that teleporting thing your old man used?"

Naruto smirked at the crocodilian as he grabbed his shoulder. Vanishing in a yellow flash that cut off all protest of his teammate the two were transported to their teammates; specifically Katana since Naruto didn't trust Boomerang with the formula for the **Hiraishin**.

 **Gotham City, New Jersey; 10:00 pm, September 30** **th** **, 2016**

Naruto landed perfectly beside Katana while Croc crashed into Boomerang. The thief was not overly fond of his new position underneath the scaly giant of a man…thing. Croc got up with a slight groan, throwing a quick glare over his shoulder towards Naruto's chuckling form, he pulled Captain Boomerang up off the ground.

"I thought you had worked that out?"

"I only said it wasn't as bad as my first attempts Croc, never said you wouldn't go flying for a few feet." Naruto snickered before Katana jabs his ribs with her elbow.

"Focus." She says. Since first working with the squad she had been learning to speak English, though with Naruto's arrival and translation seal she had less need to learn but continued all the same.

"We just waiting for Flag and Deadshot now?" Naruto asks noticing the lack of said leaders of the team "I could just swarm the place with my **Kage Bunshin** , but that's just my idea."

"That won't be necessary," Flag speaks up as he and Deadshot approach the group. "Plan is simple; our objective is to contain and capture Leslie Willis, before we enter this warehouse to capture her the power to this section of the city will be cut leaving her with no means of escape."

"And how are we supposed to stop her from shocking us?" Boomerang, the ever present panic button of the squad, asks "In case you haven't noticed none of us are made of rubber."

Deadshot holds up a collar. "Boss lady made these, says they can shut down a meta-humans powers including hers. All we need to do is get this on her and she'll be easy to handle."

Boomerang rolled his eyes "Like the last two? Those guys didn't have any powers but they weren't exactly easy to handle."

"Blame Naruto for not being there for them."

"Oi!"

Deadshot tosses the collar to Naruto. Flag checks his watch for the time "Mission begins in five, get in position, nothing leaves this place unless it's one of us."

Naruto created a small army of clones, roughly thirty or so, and had them scatter to different positions around the warehouse. Katana and Boomerang stood watch over the front entrance, Croc got in position between the bay and the back door while Deadshot and Flag stood by the door. Naruto jumped up to the roof, looking for a skylight one of his clones had found, he stayed poised to drop in and strike.

"Ten seconds." Flag updates over the radio. "And try to keep property damage to a minimal this time Naruto."

Naruto rolls his eyes as the lights in the sector go dark. Grinning he and his clones enter the warehouse. Landing in a crouch in the dark would normally be a problem for Naruto, if it weren't for him being able to sense negative emotions thanks to Kurama that is, but he could see clearly every living thing in the warehouse now. Up on the catwalks and just as confused as everyone else as to the power outage were a few armed thugs. Naruto could sense a total of twenty plus their target. Moving silently his clones began systematically taking down each thug between them and Livewire.

"Who turned out the lights?" Naruto dropped from his perch behind two thugs, employing what he remembered of Zabuza Momochi he and a clone killed both silently "Ricky! Johnny! If you two bozos are messing around I will fry you!"

Naruto signaled his clones to move in. Unfortunately one of the thugs was a bit jumpy and swung a fist wildly, hitting a clone in the back as it grabbed a potential victim. Naruto cursed under his breath "Get to cover!" he hissed the warning into his radio for Flag and Deadshot, knowing that now they'd be wise to his advances. He jumped back up to his perch as several more clones were dispelled in the brief moment of surprise. Livewire was backing up against the wall, a few thugs surrounding her as they opened up on his clones and the rest of the trash.

"Could they make any more noise?" Deadshot asks as a bullet flies past Flag's head. He looks over their cover, a large wooden crate, and fires a few shots at the closest thugs, dropping them. "That girl isn't going to be easy to get behind now. How much longer will the power be out?"

"Few minutes at best. We have to clear a path for Naruto." Flag pops up, firing his pistol he drops two more thugs. "Suggestions?"

"Yeah," Deadshot shoots a thug as he tried to make a run for the door in the chaos "Don't let them out."

Livewire extends both arms, frying several shadowy figures with her electricity. The smoke clouds that followed were odd but these guys weren't a challenge for her and her powers "Going to have to do better than that! I don't know who you are or how you found me but I gave the big blue boy scout trouble, what makes you think you can handle me?!"

Naruto grinned as he dropped behind the woman. The grin on her face was wiped away as she felt the cold metal of the collar wrap around her neck and lock in place. "Sadly for you, it was no trouble at all." The cold taunting voice made her whirl around. She felt so much rage in that instance she intended to fry the man when she grabbed the sides of his head and yet…he laughed at her. "Surprised? You should be."

Livewire backed away in genuine fear of the man before her. Never had anyone actually withstood her powers before, sure Superman wore rubber gloves that one time but still. She was so focused on this man she hadn't noticed the fighting had stopped even as she backed up into someone. A pair of hands grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her close.

"Good work. You managed to only scare the target this time." Flag compliments as Deadshot keeps a tight grip on the target "Leslie Willis? You are under arrest."

"Make it sound any less dramatic there Flag?" Naruto says with a roll of his eyes.

Flag ignored the blonde as he called it in. Target captured without any physical injuries, shaken up due to shinobi sneaking up and intimidating her. Overall not a bad night.

"Deadshot, escort her outside, our ride should be here soon."

The assassin jerked the depowered meta-human towards the door "Come on, we got a nice comfy cell waiting for you back home. You'll fit right in with the others."

"Hands off buddy, I don't do cells!" she growled as the collar actually shocked her "ow! What the heck!? This thing just shocked me!"

"Real observant you are." Floyd mutters as he pushes her outside.

Flag shakes his head. "Waller wants you to leave the clones behind, she sounded pretty curious about who was setting this all up. Clean up, get the Intel and then we go home. Copy?"

Naruto nods his head. His clones already getting to work cleaning the place up in the dark. "Give them five minutes, you won't know we were here."

"Good. Come on, we got a plane to catch." Flag leads the shinobi to the door "What's your take on all of this?"

"If you are asking me what I think about catching meta-humans like this…I don't know." Naruto confesses "Livewire I'll admit is a piece in a much larger puzzle but as for Icicle and Mr. Freeze, those two were just growing too big for their turf. As for Mirror Master," Naruto shrugs "that guy is a fruit loop and the Flash has to be lucky if all his villains aren't as dangerous as the rest."

The Suicide Squad took their prisoner to a private airfield outside Gotham. As they began boarding their flight back to Belle Reve Naruto winced violently. Images flooding his mind as each of his clones was dispatched with relative ease by someone or something in the warehouse. He meditated on the flight back, hoping to sift through the memories for something solid to identify his attacker.

' **Seems you should have let your clones go all out. Eh, Naruto?'**

Naruto frowned in his mindscape as he watched the memories play out. Power was cut, much more forcefully according to one clone before it was dispatched, and they were ambushed much more quickly than Naruto and his clones had done to the thugs they were posing as. It rubbed him the wrong way. They had been ordered to stick to being as much like a civilian as possible and yet…not one could see or even touch the assailant.

"Something isn't right with this. Even against small time thugs and villains with no powers I could hit them if I held back like that. Whatever attacked my clones had to either have a power or was incredibly skilled." Naruto deduced seeing one clone be cut down the middle and the other shot in the head "Still…the efficiency is worrying. They don't even look as if they had to think, look at how fast they dispatched these five clones…incredible."

' **You sound awe struck. New hero to worship?'**

Naruto shook his head "No, that isn't a hero. I'm not even sure if it's human."

' **I will deal with sorting through these, you should focus on dealing with your team.'** Kurama growled as he forcibly kicked Naruto out of his mindscape.

 **Belle Reve, Louisiana; 11:15pm September 30** **th** **, 2016**

Naruto blinked as he came face to face with Katana. 'Dick move Kurama, dick move.' He thought as the samurai waited for him to speak. Grumbling to himself he stood up from his seat "I missed the landing didn't I?"

"Hai."

"Anything happen while I was out?"

"Nani mo arimasen. Anata ga anata o nayama rete iru mono ni tsuite hanashi o suru baai o nozoki?" She replied, Naruto assumed with a quirked eyebrow under that mask was.

"Who says anything is troubling me?" he asked with a slight frown.

"Baka" Naruto's eye twitched as she walked off, exiting the aircraft, with that same stupid nickname.

' **Looks like you are still as much of an idiot as ever kit.'**

'Not my fault she acts like a female Sasuke!' he raged mentally 'Try and be nice and look what happens.'

Kurama chuckled deeply in his containers mind **'You're just upset she won't lighten up like you hope.'**

'As if!'

Naruto kept grumbling to himself as he walked into the prison. Guards had been giving him a wide berth since he arrived, not afraid of him for what he contained; not that they knew about Kurama, but for what Naruto could do to them or in general. So caught up was he in his own thoughts that he had nearly walked pass his favorite inmate. Lex Luthor. Poor guy. Finally killed his nemesis Superman, only to end up in prison for endangering lives with his mad scientist ways. In Naruto's completely unbiased and not paranoid opinion he was the Orochimaru of this world.

"How many days left now Lex? Twenty? Thirty?" Naruto teased the now bald man.

In his stay at Belle Reve, Lex Luthor went from being a scraggly pre-adult man to a bald well-built adult. A true transformation though his demeanor had become more…dark. The negative emotions rolled off the guy in waves, always plotting in his cell and working on his speaking ability. Guy was a nut.

"Ah, Naruto, I was wondering when Waller's new pet would see me today."

"Feeling okay there Lex?" Naruto got closer to the bars "You sound different."

"Different? I've never been better." The grin unnerved the shinobi, and that didn't happen easily.

"Whatever you say. So, we still playing our little game during the next recess or are you going to try your luck getting to know our new resident?" Naruto folded his arms. He and Lex would play a game of chess, not even close to shogi, and chat about the inmates and staff as if they were the weather.

"Sadly I won't have the chance for either."

Naruto stood up. Being nice to a criminal was one thing. Letting one like Luthor out or even hint at it was another. "I didn't think you were being released so soon."

Luthor sighed dramatically "Well, between my company flourishing slightly without Superman, and the public only knowing about my experiments almost killing some people, I am still in the limelight as a good man."

"Good man or good at manipulating?"

"What do you think?" Luthor smirked "I'll be out of here well before our weekly game, no hard feelings I hope?"

Naruto shook his head "None. Without your nemesis, you are harmless." Naruto started to walk off "But, you should know, if we cross paths and you are hurting people…I shouldn't have to explain the rest."

Luthor watched the masked blonde walk off. His unofficial rival in this accursed prison was right. He did know just what would happen if they met again in his current state. A secret identity was useless to the man since he didn't exist but to Luthor it could be a powerful tool should Naruto say…form any attachments.

"Don't worry, when we meet again I will have just the thing to finally defeat you."

(Wallers Office)

"So you are telling me that I should have left him out on his own to do whatever he wants?...I understand he can be dangerous, especially since Superman isn't around to stop him but Naruto Uzumaki is no Deathstroke or Joker. Unlike you he can interrogate a criminal without causing serious bodily harm…I already have a contingency should he go rogue but you have a better chance of becoming a criminal than he does of crossing that imaginary line you have made for yourself." Waller was not in a pleasant mood. Not that any of her other moods are ever pleasant. Her current mood was brought on by a call from a particular Dark Knight of Gotham. She was tempted to say that if she wanted to, she could have Naruto go and kill him but the blonde wouldn't go for it so easily. "Need I remind you that he has thus far done every mission I give him to the letter and all casualties are limited to criminals, not civilians?"

Flag stood on the other side of the door with Katana in tow, both hearing only the words Waller shouts at whoever was on the other end of the line. Flag tugged nervously at the collar of his shirt. Last time he interrupted one of her calls he had to run the perimeter of the parish grounds for a few hours…or until he finished ten laps. It was murder to do then and it was murder to do now.

"I hope whoever she's talking to knows what they are getting into." He mumbles to Katana "I do not want to be on the receiving end of her wrath again."

Flag waited until he couldn't hear anymore shouting, then gave it a few more minutes to be sure she was done with her call before knocking on the door.

"Enter."

Flag took a deep breath as he and Katana entered the small office. It wasn't like her personal office in D.C. or like her home office. This one was smaller, built originally for the early wardens of the facility before she took it over. The African-American woman sat behind her desk with her hands folded. To Flag it was not the face of God but that of the Devil.

"Sit down, both of you." She ordered "As you can imagine I am not in a good mood, so, I would hope that you both have something that can change that."

Flag gulped. "We have our reports as you asked for ma'am."

"Good," she held out her hand "I will check them over later, I want your personal and unbiased reports now."

Flag handed her the files "Yes ma'am."

"Colonel Flag, what is your opinion on Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze?"

"Naruto shows great loyalty to his comrades and the cause, he is thorough in his work and does as ordered almost to a fault."

"Almost?" Amada raised a brow "Not completely?"

Flag could feel the sweat rolling down the back of his neck "Y-yes ma'am. He displays the capacity to be a great soldier by following orders but questions them should he perceive any risk to civilian life."

"What of his abilities? Has he shown any signs of weaknesses or new skills he neglected to mention?"

Flag shook his head "Over the past month he has only shown his **Shadow Clones**. Any jutsu he has used other than that or his teleportation I have not witnessed. As far as weaknesses go he doesn't have any that I can find. So far there seems to be nothing he can't handle in a combat situation, ice, electricity, fire, water, he has a counter for everything. My best guess would be someone of Superman's level being the only one who could defeat him."

"And what about you Katana, being the only one on the team who could stop him, what is your opinion of him?"

"Naruto wa... Fushigidesu. Kare wa watashitachi no sorezore ga, mada hoka no jutsu o shiyō suru koto o kyohi tatakau tame ni nōryoku o motte iru koto o shimeshite imasu. Watashi wa kare ga watashitachi kara kare no hontō no nōryoku o kakushite iru to shinjite, demo wa kagetsumae nomi enmakudeshita." (1)

Waller turned to Flag for a translation. The Colonel shifted nervously under her piercing gaze "She believes that his uh…demonstration was a smokescreen."

"So it's as predicted then."

"Ma'am?"

"What is said here does not leave this room under any circumstance, is that clear?" getting nods from her two subordinates she continued "With Superman dead Naruto is now the largest threat to the planet. Currently what we know of him and his world is limited to what he says and shows us to be true. We know there are five main villages with individuals who are possibly at his level. Of his techniques we have only seen four truly be used thus far, that is not to say anything of the others he may know. As for ways to counter him there is no meta-human whose abilities could surpass or match his that is living and no materials on Earth currently are capable of stopping his jutsu or chakra."

"What about the collars?" Flag asks "Surely those could work on him, right?"

"That is a possibility we would only have one chance to test. If we use one on him to test if they work he may start to be cautious around us all and won't give us a chance to get that close." Waller explains "And before you suggest drugging him we tried that when he injured himself working on one of those symbols of his. He didn't even get drowsy."

"Permission to speak freely?"

Waller gave him a curious look as did Katana "Granted."

"Naruto is no threat to Earth. After seeing what he can do and how he handles himself I believe that he is as he claims; a hero. I know that he is hiding things from us, things you'd say we need to know, but…" Flag hesitated for a moment "I think that we will need him, whether you want to admit it or not we need this man from another world to protect our own world."

Waller leaned back in her chair. She had known Flag for years through working with his father and then his early career in the military. The man was a talented soldier, something that ran in his family, and he followed her orders to the letter when needed. It was shocking to have him come to the defense of a man he had only known for a month but then again after one mission with the Suicide Squad he stood by them any time he could. "Do you feel…as strongly as Colonel Flag, Katana?"

"Hai."

Waller sighed. Typical. The two she needed as insiders on the team were going against her own plans. No matter, she wasn't the only non-meta-human that could give the Batman a run for his money for nothing.

"Very well. I won't make a move against Naruto for now, but, should he step out of line you both are to blame. Now, onto Lex Luthor, he is being released back into the world on Friday. I don't need to remind you both of what he almost did in Metropolis, I will be keeping an eye on him should he step out of line again in which case you both should be prepared for anything."

"Is that all, ma'am?"

Amanda nods her head "You're both dismissed."

-With Naruto-

"So what is this exactly?" Naruto was confused. Kurama had pulled him into his mindscape as soon as he laid down on his bed. The image he was looking at was blurry even for a memory. One of his clones managed to catch a glimpse of their assailant, an orange blur, and another could make out what looked like armor of some kind. "Kurama, no offense but what have you been doing all this time?"

' **Going through each clones memories frame by frame.'** The beast growled **'Need I remind you that it was** _ **your**_ **idea to have them hold back?'**

"Geez take it easy." Naruto went back to looking at the blurry orange in the memory "So who is this? We know it's not one of the Squad, I doubt Katana could do all of this and she wouldn't be caught dead in orange."

Kurama snorts **'Those files you 'borrowed' spoke of few humans here that are in this range of skill. That speed could be the Flash.'**

Naruto shakes his head "Not possible. Flash doesn't use weapons or knock out the power to a specific building. The speed is interesting, and stealth is not in the repertoire of most meta-humans."

' **What about Superman?'**

"Dead."

' **They believe.'**

"Have an explanation for that?"

' **What if Superman were still alive? The few reports all said he was dead, a body was never found, he could be alive if only barely.'** Naruto hummed in thought **'He has the speed and strength to do real damage to you.'**

"True…but why use the sword? Or the shuriken and explosives? He has super powers to do that with."

Kurama huffs **'Fine then! Who do you think it could be?'** he growls **'Unless you're hiding more from me than those ningen then we are out of ideas.'**

"I think our time here is about to get more interesting partner, just wait, soon we'll be able to have a real fight and see what these people can do." The grin he gave only made the fox sigh in defeat.

' **We are doomed.'**

"Stupid fox," Naruto mumbles to himself "I know you well enough by now Kurama, this isn't just to update me on our new 'friend', what do you need?"

' **It's about that man you fought before arriving here,'** Kurama stands up **'I've been thinking of ways for us to get back to our world.'**

"You have!?" Naruto was a little surprised. For the past month he had believed that it was impossible. He hadn't copied the jutsu with his Sharingan, or seen enough of it he believed to be able to replicate it "That's awesome!"

Kurama shook his head **'It cannot be done. To replicate the jutsu we would require the man's knowledge of the technique, something that is well beyond us now. Replicating it now could be catastrophic. This world could be torn apart, you and I could be split an atom at a time or we could be sent to a different world.'** Kurama sighed with genuine sadness and looked at his container **'Naruto, I am sorry but we will never be going home. Not with what we have.'**

Naruto sighed "It's alright Kurama. I know what you mean though, without knowing how it worked the best I could try is **Kamui** and I don't even know if I have that. I know you hate them but I want to train with the Sharingan some more. I feel like we might need that in the future and I would rather be prepared now than later."

' **Fine, but those blasted orbs are off limits.'**

"I know." Naruto said as he felt the spot on the back of his neck where the seal was. To prevent himself from going over the edge and wiping out the world Naruto had used a shadow clone to place a seal that would be strong enough to suppress certain abilities of his such as his Rikudō Sennin Mōdo or Six Paths Sage Mode. The seal itself was designed in layers, the basic seal looked like the Rinnegan, and each level had three tomoe's, and was able to hold back his more dangerous abilities. The only way he could unseal it was to use chakra from each of the tailed beasts and there was no way he could do that since Kurama would know what he was up to before he did it.

Naruto left his mindscape and took off his mask. Unlike the animal designed masks the ANBU wore his was blank and bore no marks distinguishing which village he was from. He placed it gently on a small table he may have 'borrowed' from a store once on a mission. He had to figure these things out and fast. A new piece is on the board as it were and he didn't know which side it was on. According to the files it was highly likely that the heroes of this world could form a team within the year if they could work together instead of clashing egos.

 **Wayne manor, Gotham City, New Jersey; 11:45 pm, September 30** **th** **, 2016**

Multi-million and possibly billionaire Bruce Wayne sat in his study going over the files laid out before him with a fine comb. Being rich had its perks, he could go on vacation whenever he wanted to tropical locations, travel the world for a few years visiting unique places and learning various skills from the locals and experts. He even had a large cavernous lair under his mansion. Alfred, his loyal butler who had been with his family for years, placed a tray of tea down on a table a few feet from his workspace.

"Master Bruce, I know you enjoy your nightly escapades but please try to remember that you need to take a break every so often. It isn't healthy to obsess over your work."

Bruce didn't look up to respond, he just kept scanning the information he had "Alfred, we've been over this before, I will sleep after I know what we are up against."

"I believe that Master Clark had given you a warning not to do this." The butler poured a cup of tea "Shall I give him a call and tell him that you are not taking his advice?"

Bruce winced. Feeling as if his ribs still hurt from their fight a few months back. Don't ask him how but Clark had survived their fight with that monster called Doomsday. He was bedridden with what he called 'a really bad case of the flu', a horrible joke in comparison to what was in his system. According to his mother Clark was able to walk but he claimed to feel more human than kryptonian.

"There will be no need for that Alfred, I am just checking up on a slight problem."

"Would this be a Bruce Wayne problem or a Batman problem?" he set the cup down "Maybe Master Clark could help with this?"

Bruce sighed. Alfred was right. Clark could help out on this, he wouldn't be able to handle it just yet, but he could give some insight or ideas. "I'll call him in a little bit, will that satisfy you?"

The butler smiled triumphantly "Indeed it would. Will there be anything else sir?"

"No Alfred, I am fine for now." Bruce watched his butler leave the study before turning his signature scowl onto the files he had. Waller had been more than generous in giving them to him but she neglected to mention anything about one Naruto Uzumaki. Asides from the obvious lack of a past or identity on Earth the only details he had in the files stated the few abilities they knew of and his skill set prior to his obtaining the files. All of this could be considered out of date. What intrigued Bruce after his call earlier was how much freedom this man seemed to have. Too much if you asked him. Bruce reached over his desk for the phone and dialed a number…."Clark? It's Bruce…yes I know what time it is…I was hoping you'd be up to help me with something, it would be right up your alley…just an idea I have…no it's not a rematch, I actually am planning something that is a bit riskier than that…try balancing several super humans in a small group…I'll be there tomorrow, say around 1:30 pm…get some rest alright?"

Bruce hung up the phone. With a heavy sigh he got up and packed his files up into folders. Tomorrow would be a busy day, he could feel it in his bones, and he would need the sleep.

 **AN: Before anyone says I am changing the characters or making them ooc, Naruto may be ooc at some point, will do my best to keep the Squad as in character as possible. On the subject of continuity: not a fan of BvS, concept is great, plot not so much. Superman is not dead, well they think he is, he is just sick with kryptonite poisoning. As for Lex's shift just think Jesse Eisenberg, Clancy Brown voice and classic villainous Luthor. On the subject of pairings….for the people who say harems, did you not see the part that said no harems? Really surprised to see Killer Frost mentioned, didn't think she would be asked for since she isn't a major female hero/villain in the dceu. I will not for the sake of my plot be using Supergirl (hasn't arrived on Earth yet), Powergirl (not in this universe yet), Wonder Woman, Hawkgirl, Lois Lane, Amanda Waller (yes someone asked this in a pm) or any teenage character. Mostly these characters I have plans for, don't suit the way I will be taking Naruto, and are too young. If you want an idea of time of events I have switched Jason and Dick in order of becoming Robin and with Barbara roughly a year older than Dick, she would be about 10 or 11 right now. And to the people who keep saying Naruto has said too much; no huge secrets were revealed by him. Nothing about Kurama even though it's obvious he would know something, no weaknesses that could be used against him like Kryptonite for superman, no vulnerabilities in his village's defenses or shinobi forces. All I have done is what makes sense to do. He is thrown into a world he knows nothing about, senses no hostile intent in the Squad, decides to work with them and earn their trust so as to survive. So get off my back, stop spamming a single review and pm and try to keep an open mind, okay? I haven't even gotten to the part where I show how crafty or intelligent, choose your word, Naruto is.**

(1) Naruto is...strange. He shows that he has the ability to fight each of us yet refuses to use any other jutsu. I believe that he is hiding his true abilities from us, the demonstration a month ago was only a smokescreen.

 **Should I do this ^ for all translations? Idk, let me know what you guys and girls think. And bots, just so I don't piss off Skynet.**


	3. Let Fate Guide You pt1

Upload date: 9-13-2016

 **Disclaimer: I own not a thing except for OC's, and some original plot of mine.**

AN: Upon further research and reviewing of both DC continuity and animated works…Duela Dent has been removed from the possible running due to the fact that both A she would be a teenager or younger when introduced and B her parents in any form or combination have not been introduced yet.

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

" **Jutsu/technique"**

' **Biju speech/** _ **thoughts'**_

 **Location/scene change**

XXXXXXX

 **Kent Farm, Smallville, Kansas; 1:31 pm, October 1** **st** **, 2016**

Clark Kent for once in his life felt human. Not vulnerable, but human. After the fight with Doomsday he had decided to lay low, that and his powers weren't working for some reason. Turned out that he was suffering a little from kryptonite poisoning. Best that he or anyone that knew his identity could tell was that some small amount of kryptonite was in his system, not enough to kill him but enough to keep his powers weakened for a lengthy time, and would not be out for a few more days. It was boring sitting around all day doing nothing. Sure he managed to write articles from home and keep up with his work but Lois and his own mother wouldn't let him out of the house until he was fully recovered. Today he was just waiting in the kitchen for Bruce to arrive to discuss this plan of his. With his mother out for the evening and Lois in Metropolis he had no one to talk to. So what does a bored depowered kryptonian do?

"Is that a crossword?" Clark looked up seeing Bruce Wayne standing in the doorway to the kitchen with a briefcase in hand "I didn't think you of all people did those."

Clark gave a shrug "Normally you'd be right but since I have nothing to do all day I decided to try them."

Bruce smirked as he took a seat "Must be boring not being able to use your powers."

"I still have enough strength to throw you out Bruce." The kryptonian warned "Now, what is this plan of yours?"

Bruce opened the case and pulled out a folder "This is everything I have been able to acquire on the latest meta-human. I was hoping we could start with this one first, if you don't mind."

Clark opened the folder seeing a picture of a blonde haired man in his twenties. He scanned his eyes over the file briefly, already knowing that Bruce would explain in detail what he knows. And he was not disappointed.

"His name is Naruto Uzumaki-Namikaze, Waller believes that he can be trusted and has had him on missions with the Suicide Squad for the past month. His known abilities are energy manipulation, some form of sensory ability, and as he claims, ninja training." Bruce explains "From what I understand all of his true abilities are unknown, he is able to know when someone is lying or has a negative intent, and possibly he is a psychic of some kind."

"Says here he is a ninja, I didn't know that ninjas still existed on Earth."

Bruce's eyes narrowed "They don't. Mostly we just have a few lone assassins like Deadshot but never training like he demonstrates. I have heard rumors of a ninja group growing in power in eastern Asia but that could just be a fad for all we know."

"But knowing you you'll look into it." Clark states with a knowing grin "I know you Bruce, you won't leave any stone unchecked. Any real concerns besides possibilities? His file checks out, Naruto doesn't appear to have any villainous plots."

"That is what concerns me most. He is new to this world, has powers we can't compete with without you at your best, and no weaknesses to speak of. If he wanted to, this planet would be his within a week." Bruce sighs as he pulls out a larger folder.

Clark quirks a brow "That your main reason for seeing me?"

"Yes. I've run the numbers and done the simulations countless times." Bruce says as he puts the folder on the table "We couldn't have beaten Doomsday on our own or at all without Wonder Woman."

"Is that what the public is calling her?"

Bruce snorts "And she has taken to it fully. My plan is to create something that could do the world a lot of good Clark."

"You have my attention."

Bruce opens the folder and places images of five heroes, two of them being themselves, beside Naruto's image. On the far left was a young forensic scientist named Barry Allen aka Flash, next was an air force test pilot Hal Jordan aka Green Lantern. "Barry Allen, lost his mother when he was a child, father went to prison for the murder and died, works as a forensic scientist for the Central City Police Department. Powers include super speed to a degree I don't even think you have. Hal Jordan, father died in a crash landing, works for the air force testing aircraft made by Ferris Aircraft. All of his powers are granted to him by the power ring he wears, energy constructs, flight, the uniform, all of it."

"I'll bite, you wouldn't come here to show me this if you were planning to eliminate us all to protect the planet, so what are you going to do Bruce?" Bruce stared stoically back at the kryptonian "I'm Superman, not god, I cannot read your mind."

Bruce smirked "I want to make a team. Doomsday proved that we can't fight every threat on our own, Man of Steel or not, and the Suicide Squad shows that villains can work together. Who's to say that others won't get the same idea? Then what will we do alone?" Clark looked to be in thought "Imagine if you were fighting Livewire and Doomsday alone, could you say for certain that you would still be alive?"

Clark sighed. Bruce was right yet again. There was nothing that he could do if those were the odds. Doomsday was a monster, but fighting him alone while he had help would be impossible for him to do. "Your right. So, what do we do?"

Bruce smirked "I have already been preparing for this but it won't be finished for a few more months. Maybe a year until it will be ready."

"A headquarters?" Clark asked with a small amount of surprise "Batcave too small?"

"Hardly, I just think it best if we weren't so easy to reach. I'll see if I can't contact them before its finished, give us a slight edge should we need them." Bruce collected his files "I would consider Naruto but that is only if we truly need him or if you are at full strength."

"Not going to trust him?"

"No. Until we know more of who he is, he will be monitored constantly."

"Good luck then, he doesn't seem like the type to just let you win." Clark grinned seeing the scowl form on Bruce's face.

"How long now? You've been out of commission for a while Clark."

Clark gave a shrug "Just a few days I think, don't give me that look, I won't be on patrol for another week after that. I can't risk my powers not being fully back Bruce."

"Fine, just try not to get yourself killed." Bruce got up from his seat "I shouldn't have to tell you that Luthor will be released soon."

"The sixth or seventh, right?"

Bruce nods his head as he heads for the door "I'll be in touch."

"You'll be spying on me you mean."

Bruce only gave one final smirk as he left. Clark frowned slightly before looking down at his crossword. "Five letter word meaning frustrating?" Clark sighs "If only the answer were Bruce."

 **Belle Reve; Terrebonne Parish, Louisiana, 4:45 pm, October 28** **th** **, 2016**

"I hope you both understand the reason as to why I summoned you here," Naruto felt a little nervous meeting with Waller like this. Katana stood to his left at attention and he really hoped she wouldn't try to kill him after what happened earlier. "The situation calls for our best and due to the nature of your target the others are not equipped to handle it."

"Does this really need all the cloak and dagger? Even for you Waller it is a bit much" Naruto complains lightly. To be completely honest he had been bored since Luthor was released three weeks ago, not to mention he had become paranoid as he reviewed news footage and surveillance of the bald genius.

"Yes it is necessary Mr. Uzumaki," Waller ground out stressing his status as a subordinate "Compared to the rest of the Squad you two are the only ones who can handle this threat and blend in."

Naruto scowled a little at the reminder that he was still going to need a babysitter. It had already been two months working for Waller and answering to the 'best' of his ability any of her questions. Only thing he had yet to do was let them dissect him. A quick look to his left showed that Katana was also not thrilled to be babysitting him…again.

"As you both have heard Pamela Isley aka Poison Ivy escaped from Arkham Asylum in Gotham City just two weeks ago. Upon her breakout we were notified and were unable to track her until now."

"Still don't see why we are needed." Naruto mumbled receiving a harsh glare from his 'boss'.

"You are needed because we cannot send Katana in alone. Ivy is dangerous, and if handled alone could prove fatal to any of you." She gives Naruto a pointed look "So cut the whining before I allow Katana to stab you in the back at the earliest convenience."

Naruto was not affected by the threat, he had received worse from seasoned shinobi, but he was however put on edge when he caught Katana slowly unsheathing her sword out of the corner of his eye.

' _ **Girl knows how to play her role well'**_ Kurama comments seeing the act but feeling none of the negative intent he expected _**'If she is messing with you then play along, if not…best keep an eye on her at all times.'**_

'Noted.' Naruto thought back with a gulp to his partner "Alright, I'll play nice, now what do you want us to do?"

"I want you to go into New Orleans, incognito, find Poison Ivy, if she is planning something then stop it and then take her in. I will allow the use of deadly force if you must but remember: if one civilian is harmed I will have your head on my desk before the day is up." Waller left her threat hang in the air. Naruto and Kurama believed it was for them but Katana too was wary of crossing that line even if it wasn't directed at her.

"You are dismissed."

Naruto and Katana sat in silence. To be fair he sat up front looking out the window at the scenery. Swampland's, grass lands and open highway as they drove to New Orleans. He tugged at the collar of the shirt they had him wear. He was dressed in black dress pants, what felt like a tuxedo though was more businesslike and his hair had to be cut. Naruto was pretty certain if he were in Konoha like this Tsunade would say he looked presentable for a change. Naruto attempted to look out of the corner of his eye at the rear-view mirror to check on Katana but stopped himself when he felt a chill run down his spine. He tried that before she got in the car, he was already in it waiting, and had Kurama not warned him about the level of negative emotions the woman was giving off he may have been meeting the Shinigami right now instead.

A quick glance at their chauffeur to confirm that Waller's hired help was still as stoic as ever. Naruto sighed tiredly as the city drew closer. Not even in his **Sennin Mōdo** and he could feel something off about it all.

 **New Orleans, Louisiana; 6:20 pm, October 28** **th** **, 2016**

Naruto scanned the crowd as they walked down the street. No sign of Ivy. He had to stop himself from lingering on Katana whenever he looked in her direction. Could you blame him? First time seeing her without her mask on or her usual outfit. Luckily for him he wasn't around Jiraiya, bless his perverted soul, or he would be getting lectures on how to pick up women…again! He had to shake his head a few times and fake having a headache just to keep her from questioning him or seeing the slowly forming smirk on his face. He heard a dark chuckle in his mind; and now Kurama was laughing him about it.

' **Still don't understand why you don't accept their advances kit,'** Kurama mused with the hints of a smile behind his words **'Sage knows you need to enjoy your life for once.'**

Naruto rolled his eyes. Okay so he had become a workaholic in his last few years in his own world but that was because he was going to become Hokage. Everyone knew he would be the next choice as soon as Kakashi could hand the hat off to him. All Naruto did was train, learn what work came with the job, and learned new Jutsu. Now that he thought about it he hadn't even been on a first date yet…damn.

"Any of sign of her?" Naruto asks his partner as they pass by several street vendors and an old man with a gold pocket watch.

"Not yet." Naruto quirked a brow at the words. It seemed that Katana had been practicing as her accent had dropped slightly more.

"Not bad, give you a B for progress, though if you would let me just use my seal you could be speaking it perfectly." He gave her one of his trademark grins.

Katana looked away and muttered "Baka."

Naruto seemed to deflate a bit. Attempt number nine hundred and fifty six: Failed. Sometimes it does not pay to be good. "Okay, still not trusting of my seals, not good for my pride but I can understand that. How about I help with something else then?"

Katana eyed Naruto warily as they passed some musicians and groups of people who were more than open with their views of the two. Not all of that was bad though Naruto did tense a few times when they would pass a group of women or men that were more than both vocal and forward in their comments.

"Maybe I can help you with whatever spiritual journey you are on, I know that it is something personal but experience tells me that doing this alone won't make it easy for you." In that moment Naruto seemed to age a little. "I might have a way to fix it you know."

Naruto would have continued if he hadn't felt like they were being watched. Lightly grasping Katana's hand he gently guided her out of the crowds and down a back street between two small shops. Checking that they weren't being followed he left his partner with a clone to continue on the mission. Katana was not overly happy.

"I am sorry to have to leave you like this but someone is watching us," the clone speaks as they blend in with the crowds of people "I can't pin point who or where if I am with you, no offense, so I will conduct my own investigation and bring you in if I find anything."

Katana gave the clone a slight glare, knowing that when it would be dispelled that Naruto would know she was not happy with him. A small fact that she took great pleasure in was that the blonde shinobi was intimidated by her for some reason or another.

Naruto created several clones, only four, and began giving out his orders. While the first one would stay with Katana and play out their roles the next three were to scatter across the city under various guises and search for Ivy while the last one and Naruto would do something a bit more drastic.

"Sure this will work boss?" the clone asked as it sat cross legged on the pavement, blocked from sight by several boxes and a dumpster "This isn't the best place to do this y'know."

Naruto kept tapping his foot impatiently "Ivy uses plants, chances are that there will be a large amount of plant life around her and if that is true then nature energy will be plentiful. Sage Mode is the only way we can track her since Kurama can't pick up any negative emotions."

The clone frowned "That still doesn't explain why another clone is with Katana-chan."

Naruto felt himself give a jerk when he heard that. Since when did his clones refer to her as Katana-chan?

' **HAHAHAAHAAHA!'** Naruto grabbed the side of his head hearing Kurama's booming laughter **'Even your clones agree with me! Kit! You're slowly losing support in this!'**

Naruto shook his head. "She is just Katana, and no riling him up either. I have enough headaches with upstart clones."

The clone grumbled as he began gathering Nature energy. Surprisingly it didn't take long because Naruto only counted five minutes passing before the clone dispelled itself and he felt this euphoric feeling wash over him. The nature energy in the city was overwhelming. Naruto's eyes shifted, as did those of his clones, to resemble a toads. His once blue eyes now were yellow with an orange pigmentation around them.

"Woah…what a rush." He says having to catch his breath "You feel that Kurama?"

' **Its…odd, almost like its calling out to you in a way.'** Kurama notes **'Be careful Naruto that much natural energy has to be Ivy but if it can disrupt your focus in Sage Mode then she must be powerful.'**

"Right, I'll do my best." With that Naruto jumps onto the rooftops and starts making a dash to Ivy.

-With Katana-

The clones' behavior had changed. It was not hard to play off its eyes and the orange around them as makeup or effects but it seemed like it was almost blissfully peaceful. The clone staggered slightly when the change first occurred but afterward it looked more like it was contemplating something.

Seeing her look the clone shakes its head "Don't worry about me, Boss is fine, this is just one of our powers." It rubbed the back of its neck sheepishly "He'll explain later but for right now you should get changed. We found Ivy."

Katana gave a nod of her head before looking for a map of the area. They might need a place to return to should the situation grow severe. A hotel would do nicely, good view of the area, easy enough to sweep for bugs or other listening devices and it would be simple to play off their roles. Not that Katana was interested in that part of the mission. She dragged the clone off after over hearing someone give a couple of tourist's directions. Night was upon them after all, and finding a vacant room would be difficult.

-With Naruto-

Finding Ivy was not a major issue especially given that Naruto had not only his own sage mode but that of three other clones to help pinpoint her. The problem was that she was in the open with a large crowd of civilians around. With a subtle nod of his head to each clone they began clearing the place, a large square with a fountain in the center, of people. Naruto slowly approached the redhead who had his back to him. He could feel every twitch, every pull at his senses as the nature energy clawed away at his will. It was intoxicating to him.

"Do you know that plants are great house guests? They love to hear us prattle on to them as they grow, giving back oxygen to us." The woman comments putting Naruto on edge "Do you know what they are saying right now?"

"I got a bad feeling about this" Naruto mumbles to himself as he and his clones approach her.

' **Remind me to kill the Australian for showing you those blasted movies.'** Kurama growls as he repels a wave of pheromones infiltrating Naruto's body **'Careful Kit, she's trying to control you.'**

Naruto shakes his head regaining his focus. A quick look to his clones shows that they are less than capable of repelling her pheromones. Naruto growls as he tries to channel Kurama's chakra into the clones to clear their minds.

"Hm? Oh you are special." Ivy turned slowly around to face the gathered Naruto's, revealing that she was holding a potted plant in her hands "Able to communicate with nature and resist me, what is it about you that makes you so…unique?"

Naruto shivered hearing the low purr in her voice. It was almost seductive, if it weren't for the way her energy swirled around her in an almost menacing way. "I'd tell you, but I doubt I would have much time to explain the particulars to you."

Ivy took a step forward "That's a shame, my babies could use you as a guardian when I am away. Such a handsome one at that."

'Kurama, mind replaying that sunset Genjutsu thing that Lee and Guy used to do? Really would appreciate it now.' Naruto thought as he tried to resist her advances.

' **Done!'**

"Still resisting me?" Ivy was now standing closer, trailing a delicate hand up his chest and to his chin "Why not let go? You'll be safe with me."

Naruto chuckled "Sorry but I have a job to do," Naruto umped back as thick roots tore through the ground where he once stood as Ivy shook in rage "Stop me if you've heard this but green is an ugly color for you, or is that red with rage?"

"Insolent little…" Ivy stepped back, protectively covering her plant with her arm as more roots began to sprout out of the ground and lash out at Naruto and his clones. One clone was unlucky enough to be pierced through the chest by a root. "My babies will tear you apart!"

Naruto and his clones regrouped. So maybe refusing the crazy plant chick wasn't his best plan, but it did give him some time to think. Naruto and his clones formed a **Rasengan** in their right hands and launched themselves at the thickest grouping of roots they could see.

' **Going to need something more powerful than that to stop these blasted plants.'** Kurama notes as another clone is dispelled when a root slams into its back and sends it crashing into a car. **'I suggest fire or ice style jutsu if you want to really make progress.'**

"Not a bad idea," Naruto grins as he goes through the hand seals, " **Katon: Gōkakyū no Jutsu**!" and with a great breath he and his clones unleashed medium sized balls of fire to burn through the roots. Hearing a cry of anguish from Ivy he must have done some real damage.

Ivy felt each of her babies cries as they were burned before her by this blonde haired demon. She refused in that moment to call him a man or anything so kind after he destroyed her babies like that. Even Batman had some respect when he fought her in the past. Naruto had only a moment to think that he was winning before his last bit of support was constricted by the roots. Advantage of Sage mode: He could sense when his opponents were attacking or moving. Disadvantage: Sage Mode believes that plants are exempt from this. Well shit.

"Any chance that I can apologize?" Naruto asked with a nervous chuckle as he now had his full reserve of nature energy that his clones were hogging "Really, I don't want to cause you any harm."

Ivy growled as the roots tensed behind her, poised to strike at her command. Naruto didn't have to worry about a strike as shards of ice rained on the area. Naruto grinned sensing his last clone land beside him as few of the roots were encased in ice.

"Took you long enough," Naruto says with a grin "Thought you were going to miss all of the fun."

Katana gave a subtle roll of her eyes as she drew her blade and stood on the blonde's right. The ground began to tremble beneath them. Naruto immediately picked up Katana in a bridal carry and jumped back into the air landing on a car roof as his clone lands on a car adjacent to theirs. Large roots had sprouted up in the small square around the fountain as a sort of defensive wall.

"I don't think Ivy is happy to see us." The clone speaks up as the dust settles around the base of the root wall.

Naruto gently let Katana down "There's more to is, she is starting to speed up her time table. We need to move."

Katana and her two blonde comrades cautiously walked up to the roots. Seeing their size alone told her that cutting through them would be next to impossible with her sword and climbing would be hazardous should they change mid climb to delay or kill them. The two Naruto's looked as if they were discussing strategy; a strategy that if their grins were indicators would not be one she would approve of in any circumstance.

Naruto and his clone began forming a **Rasengan** in their hands and pumping chakra into the ball. With a nod to the other they leaped into the air and brought the now considerably larger balls of chakra down on the fountain. Katana had to shield her eyes as the wind picked up sending stone, dirt and debris flying. The two landed on top of the roots admiring their work. Naruto's hunch was correct. Ivy had left after the roots began to sprout and the area beneath the fountain had been mostly hollowed out. She had planned this almost perfectly.

"Looks like we are going underground," he dispels his clone "Think you're up to it Katana?"

The samurai gave a curt nod before Naruto freezes the section of the roots he is standing on and delivers a swift punch shattering it. The pair dropped down a few feet in the hole. The path ahead looked like a crudely made tunnel, a trail of water leading further down the path. Naruto felt a bit claustrophobic given the situation. Tight spaces limited what he could do, the fact there was a high possibility of entering the city's water system meant most of his arsenal would be unusable, and on top of that if he were to still keep the majority of his abilities under wraps then he had even less that he could do.

'Any suggestions Kurama?'

' **Hmm…perhaps sticking to simple Hyōton or a small Katon Jutsu to deal with her plants. And keep an eye out for any sudden movements, while you and your clones can handle her attacks I doubt that Katana could keep up at that speed.'** Kurama warned with a slight rumble that struck a nerve in Naruto.

Suddenly the idea that one of his new friends in this world could be killed played in his mind. Of the entire squad katana was the most capable of keeping up with him and if they were now facing someone that could surprise even him she may not fare as well. Naruto began mentally going over his possible plans for the fight. At best the **Raikiri** was an option for the roots but that wouldn't be as effective as a fire or wind Jutsu. His use of Ice was not on the level of Haku but it was close to the ninja from the Land of Spring back when it _was_ the Land of Snow.

Naruto slowly took point with Katana picking up the rear, more to be the first one to be attacked than to be the scout. "Katana," he called getting her attention "you do not have to be here for this fight, you have my word that I will not run should you not be present."

Katana stood firm with her sword drawn. Staring defiantly at Naruto, almost outraged at the notion of leaving him during the mission, she all but challenged him to send her back with force. Naruto didn't know if it was a normal trait in women or if it was only in those he met but all women started to look more and more troublesome and stubborn to him now. Maybe Shikamaru was right.

"Fine then, but at the first sign that you can't keep up I am sending you back to the surface." He grumbled in resignation as they continued. Their path had become a bit more problematic as well. The amount of water around them was increasing if only in small amounts due to the number of roots, vines and stems of plants cropping up in the tunnel.

"Keikaku wa nanidesu ka?" (1) Katana asked as Naruto sensed they were getting closer to their target.

"Don't know yet, still working on that part." He admits with a grimace "I'll let you know what it is…somehow."

Katana shakes her head as the tunnel opened up into what looked like a large reservoir with what could only be considered a giant weed growing in the center with roots going through several tunnel opening in the walls. Judging my Naruto's expression he had the same train of thought as her. If those roots were spreading through the water and sewer systems then that could mean they reached every inch of the city.

"Aren't they beautiful?" Ivy called almost playfully from her perch on the roots of her pride and joy "It isn't ready yet but this one has already helped spread its siblings through the city. In a few short minutes my work will be finished."

Naruto clenched his fists and growled in the back of his throat "You are insane! You'll kill innocent people all for some plants!?"

Ivy turned to look at the now furious blonde man. Despite his…perfections, he still was not a plant and cared too much for humanity. "Do you not see that by destroying this city I am returning the lands to their natural looks? Imagine it, where once a city marred the land and polluted the air a lush green forest will rise up again."

Naruto leaps into the air channeling wind chakra into the palm of his right hand. "Might be imperfect but this **Rasengan** packs a punch!" he thrust his arm forward as a thick vine came up to block his path. The vine was torn to shreds by the wind laced attack. Naruto landed in a crouch, breaking his fall with a roll, and glared at Ivy.

"Hmm so you control the elements in a larger array. Tell me, are you related to the Weather Wizard?"

Naruto shook his head with a grin "Nope. I'm just your average Shinobi."

A root slammed into the ground atop Naruto, cracking the concrete floor. As the root slowly moves aside Ivy is surprised to see that her opponent has vanished and then shocked that the only thing that was crushed was a log.

"Number one resource of my homeland: conveniently placed logs." Naruto pulled out a kunai "I will only ask this once, don't make me kill you Ivy, come quietly and you won't get hurt."

Ivy snarled as she turned around. Naruto already could sense the movement of the plants around him and jumped up to avoid the group of vines that attempted to strangle him. Naruto's hands ran through hand seals before he released a torrent of fire from his mouth and started to light the main plant. All he could hear were Ivy's screams of anguish and fury as her baby burned. Naruto could feel his Sage Mode wearing off as he made two clones. The trio dropped to Ivy's level as the super-villain cried.

"It's over Ivy," Naruto gave her a sad smile as he and his clones surrounded her "I'm sorry."

They couldn't see her face as she was on her knees and her hair covered most of it "Over? This is not over," Naruto sensed something was wrong. A pulse of energy but it was not directed at him or his clones. "But is capturing me worth killing someone else?"

Naruto's gaze strayed from the redhead over to the tunnel he and Katana had come through. Sure enough he could see Katana as the vines bound her arms and legs. Thankfully she had put up a fight otherwise her body would have been completely wrapped up. Naruto and his clones began to close in on the villain.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you," Ivy grinned "My babies are a bit too friendly. They may just 'hug' her too tightly." As she said this a vine drew closer to Katana's neck. Naruto himself stepped back, his clones doing the same, and dropped his kunai. "Good boy," Ivy was about to have her babies bind the man when she felt her body jerk. She tried to move her arms but found that they were frozen in place as were her legs "What is this!?"

Naruto smirked as one of his clones placed the collar around her neck while the other kept her in the **Kagemane no Jutsu** or Shadow Possession Jutsu. He had to thank Shikamaru for letting him learn that particular jutsu if he ever met him in the next life. Naruto focused chakra, as Sakura and Tsunade had showed him before her passing, to his hands as he approached the redhead.

"My employer will have my head for this but I don't care," he says as he places his hands on Ivy's stomach "I can feel the Natural Energy in your body. It is impressive for someone with no Chakra to be able to harness it but it has hurt you hasn't it?"

Ivy didn't know what to say. She could feel that her powers were useless with the collar on, and she still could not move for whatever reason. He could kill her if he wanted to and she both knew and feared this fact.

Naruto sent a small pulse of his own nature energy into Ivy's body. Upon seeing how it affected her body for the few seconds it was present he went to work siphoning off some of the energy in her body. From what the reports said she had gained her powers from an accident of some kind. Ivy had a highly toxic kiss, and abilities similar to the **Mokuton** or Wood Release of the Senju clan. Above all what Naruto hoped to do was undo the damage to her body. If anything he hoped the kiss would be reversed but he really wanted to fix the internal damage and mental scars. Psychologically Pamela Isley was using the plants as a replacement for the children she could not have and Naruto wanted to change that.

"Don't worry, when I'm finished, you will be just like you were before." Naruto gave her a reassuring smile "You'll still have your powers but it wouldn't hurt for you to have a real family now would it?"

Pamela didn't know what to say at the notion. That and she didn't want to give him a real reason to harm her. If he was telling the truth then this could be what she had been searching for. A way to be normal again, albeit with her powers intact. Naruto hummed to himself as he concentrated on his work. His free clone was also busy helping to untangle Katana.

The clone tugged at the vines with a slight grunt of exertion as they appeared to have gotten tighter than they were when Ivy had her powers. "Damn plants! Why do these things have to be so stubborn!?"

Katana sighed in defeat, or shame, at her predicament. She was only caught off guard of that there was no objection. She could see the original Naruto inspecting their target, and no doubt keeping her from doing anything too dangerous in her current state. Katana was not certain that all of her powers would be contained by the collar alone. With a mighty tug the clone managed to loosen the vines around her sword arm enough for her to do the rest and cut herself loose.

"That wasn't so bad," the clone comments lightly seeing her cut through the vines with ease "Though you could have just let me untangle you y'know, no need to eviscerate them."

She turned her blade to the clone, stopping short of piercing its throat "Shut up."

The clone gulped before putting its arms up in a placating manner. "Now now, let's not get hasty here. You wouldn't kill the Boss so why would you want to hurt me?"

Katana's eyes narrowed at the clone. Just how much was it willing to reveal of Naruto's knowledge to stay 'alive'? Before she could think further or act upon her curiosity the clone leaped back down to the original. Katana watched the three blondes discuss something amongst themselves before the clones grabbed Ivy and vanished in a flash of yellow light. **Hiraishin** it was called. A technique Naruto said was created by his predecessor the Second and improved by his father the Fourth. She had to admit that it was interesting for an ability.

"Ready to go?" Naruto asked as he appeared beside her in a yellow flash "Got off the phone with Waller, my clones arrived safely with Ivy in custody and we now have some time off."

He almost sounded like he was being cautious with his word choice, something he hadn't done much of with any of them in the past.

"I already know about us having a hotel room for the night, maybe we could go back and talk strategy?" Katana moved to jab her elbow in his chest "I mean about your sword, I already know you want to kill me for my clone's uh…earlier appreciation but that wasn't me."

She gave him a deadpan look.

"Okay so it _was_ me but not _me,_ me."

Naruto counted the minutes down to the second. Katana was not happy with him. Story of his life seemed to be he had the innate ability to annoy any woman he meets with little to no effort. The samurai chose to give him the cold shoulder, a feat that was not hard to do for her, and ignored him the whole walk; yes walk back to the hotel. Naruto's shoulders slumped in defeat. At one point in their walk he had to fight down a blush as his clones dispelled and he learned of what Ivy had tried to do to them. Safe to say that Deadshot and Boomerang would never let him live this one down.

"Seems you are in a bit of a bind there." An aged voice says as the pair walk past "Reminds me of when I was young, then again Inza never did have a katana."

Naruto and Katana stopped mid step, Katana in surprise and Naruto out of curiosity. It was the same old man that Naruto saw when they were walking through the streets earlier.

Naruto's expression became serious as he spoke "Mind telling me why you were following us?"

"Oh no reason, just thought I'd check in on how you were doing here." The man gave a kind smile "Inter-dimensional travel is a tricky thing. Last I heard of it was when that kid from the first universe arrived what? Thirty or so years ago."

"Okay…" Naruto and Katana shared a quick look of confusion "That doesn't answer my question."

"Quite right. My name is Kent Nelson, and I may be able to help you both." Naruto if he were younger, would have jumped at the chance to have some help. But this wasn't a younger him. He had learned that in this new world there were few so trustworthy or naïve enough that would outright hand you what you want to know. "I believe you both are working on a way to remove a soul from that katana your friend has, yes?"

Katana tensed. "How long have you been watching us?!" Naruto growled "And don't think about lying to me, I have some experience with interrogations, it won't end well for you."

Kent gave a hearty chuckle and threw Katana a knowing look "Glad to see I have you here to reign in the loudmouth."

Naruto's eye twitched. 'Loudmouth? LOUDMOUTH!?'

' **Oi! Gaki! Shut the hell up! I can't sleep with you screaming in here!'** Kurama roared in his head giving him a slight headache.

"Stupid fox," he mumbled "And I am not a loudmouth!"

Kent laughed at the outburst "Oh but you are kid, or were, I can never tell anymore. Take a peek into a different universe every so often and you forget about how much time has passed there."

If Naruto wasn't so certain that Waller had no sense of humor, he may have thought this man to be an agent of some kind and this whole scenario to be an elaborate joke. If only she did, then he could make sense of it all.

"You can…help us?" Katana asked hesitation in her voice. Her accent slipped through making the man chuckle.

"Still not accepting his help?" he asked "Don't worry, you'll get there soon, I can help but I would need to know what it is that you will need in detail. Why don't we go to a more private location? My home is not far from here and it has a rather extensive library."

Naruto looked at Katana for confirmation that she was interested in this old coot's suggestion. He grumbled to himself about the chances of this being worth it as he turned to face the smiling geezer. "Alright, we're in."

"Splendid. Pleasure to work with you two, now do try to keep up? I just hate having to be a tour guide here." Kent began leading the two away from their hotel, down streets that once were brimming with life now were dark and abandoned only being full of life under a street light or in a small shop that was still open.

 **Audubon Park, New Orleans; 9:45 pm**

Naruto looked around the large park with a skeptic look. The old man, Kent Nelson, said that they would be going to his home to check his 'extensive' library for anything that could be of use. If he were honest Naruto would have said the old man was delusional but given that what little natural energy he could sense seemed to swirl around the area around them like it was hitting a wall he had to be curious and very cautious. Katana seemed to be a bit impatient too. Naruto didn't know if she wanted to gut the old man or start to vibrate where she stood.

Kent pats down his shirt "Give me a second to find my key, blasted thing keeps disappearing on me from time to time."

Naruto crosses his arms "No offense but we don't have all night, I want to enjoy my vacation while I still have one."

Kent laughs as he fishes out his key and goes through the motions of unlocking a door. "Well I wouldn't worry too much, vacation from our line of work is rather dull but to be fair this is nothing you've ever done before." The grin and twinkle in his eye really unnerved Naruto. Kent got a kick out of watching their expressions change from bored and slightly curious to surprised as the door opened and the Tower of Fate was revealed in its glory "When you pick your jaws up, would you both kindly step inside? It will remain visible until I close the door."

Naruto gestured for Katana to go in first, something that Kurama took joy in teasing him about, before following her inside. Call him a moron for willingly stepping into a tower that appeared out of thin air but he had a gut feeling telling him that this was only going to make things more interesting.

 **AN: To start things off, to the reviewer DBlade59, I hate you and yet I love you. No homo or actual feelings here. I hate you because you had me thinking you were using logic and reason and facts from my fic and the Naruto wiki to criticize me at length. This guy or gal here has it right. I might have not been blunt but come on; crazy or not with my ideas I always leave information either plainly obvious or kept close to me. Read too many fics with Naruto being a god or op to the extreme. Being Kage level is where he belongs, with all of his abilities taken into consideration he is essentially at the point of fighting Kaguya with a little bit of a struggle. Keep in mind until he is in his thirties or forties fighting Kaguya solo would still be tricky to do. So for right now in the story he is only able to handle Superman as he is, slightly depowered, and won't be able to handle him and the likes of Darkseid alone until he is close to his forties as well. That does not mean that with help of certain individuals he would not be able to beat the two. On the topic of Naruto using both of his parents' names, it's more of a respect than status thing. Typically you take your father's name, right now It's a both to honor his parents and to transition him into responding to Namikaze instead of Uzumaki. If you have a problem with that then read the manga, this is fanfiction, got that? In pairing news; I am postponing the poll until this mini arc is complete. This does not mean spam me with just one pairing as multiple guests. Already have Ivy, Katana, Paula, and Death. Possible choices that have yet to be disproved or banned are: Livewire, Killer Frost, Circe, and others whose names escape me.**

1: What are you planning to do?

One more thing, on the note of naruto's power level (heh): He is the second coming of the sage of six paths, the only things sealed away are the OP orbs of annihalation (Truth seeking ball/orbs), a miniscule amount of chakra in comparison to his full amount and the six paths sage mode...unless I rethink that last one. Right now he is holding back intentionally so as to not kill anyone by accident. Like if he were to punch Batman at full power, nine tailed sage mode, or whatever its called he would kill the man and none of you would have a reason as to why not! So deal with him nerfing himself so its fair, and holing back his full power and abilities until a real threat like Darkseid, Doomsday, Justice Lords, Lobo, I could make a list of individuals for me to pull from different universes just to make him go all out but I wont. Chaos awaits, we have...at least 2 arcs before we get to the Justice League formation which may or may not differ with the dceu (Snyder) because its lacking despite the limitless potential. Chaos to all!


	4. Let Fate Guide You pt2

**Disclaimer: I own not a thing except for OC's, and some original plot of mine.**

"Speech"

'Thoughts'

" **God Speech"**

" **Jutsu/technique"**

' **Biju speech/** _ **thoughts'**_

 **Location/scene change**

XXXXXXX

 **Tower of Fate, Louisiana; 11:38 pm, October 28** **th** **2016**

"Not this one, could blot out the sun, too many sacrifices." Naruto ducked his head as Kent carelessly tosses and banishes various books in his direction. After wandering around this 'tower' Naruto was convinced that he should have chosen to either ignore the old man or stayed in bed. "I think this will do just fine." Kent motioned the two over to a small coffee table in this nearly endless library. He had explained to them earlier that the tower was like an anchoring point in their dimension that could connect to others. In other words, it was magic just like the old man.

Kent placed the tome down on the table. The girl, Katana, was clearly more interested than her companion in the mystic arts though that may be due to her needing it more than him. Said blonde was a bit skeptical as to him being a sorcerer but Kent found that this one would be fun to enlighten.

"What did you find?" Naruto asks a hint of curiosity in his voice.

"Nothing a man of your background would be interested in." Kent teases lightly "I have good news and bad news for you both, which do you prefer hearing first?"

Katana skims over the page as Naruto asks "bad news first."

"We are going to need to find one of the most well-hidden secrets in this world."

"And the good news?"

Kent gave a grin "I know just how to perform the ritual needed."

He motioned Naruto over to the book. The blonde hesitantly did as instructed, looking over Katana's shoulder at the tome he scanned the pages displayed. It all looked like gibberish to him and yet Katana was attentively reading each word slowly. He mentally scratched his head (had Kurama give his opinion) and found that there was something off with this book. The words that stood out were 'Lazarus', 'Death', 'Summoning', 'Exchange' and 'God'. Best that they could figure out was that they would need to summon the Shinigami and thus sacrifice themselves. Not an option that either wanted to explore.

"Could you explain this to me?" Naruto asks as he leans back from the tome "I can't speak for Katana but I hardly understand what it is that is being said in this thing."

Kent nods his head "The ritual that we are to perform is tricky. It requires us to make contact with a Death God, Anubis, Thanatos, the Shinigami, and deities like them. To do this properly we must only summon them when we have something of equal or greater value for them to claim as a…sacrifice."

"So a human soul?" Naruto hesitantly asks as a weight settles in his stomach.

Kent shakes his head while Katana turns to give Naruto a curious look "Nothing of the sort. As you read there are several things that could be of value and used in exchange. People who have become immortal, objects of immense power, beings who have escaped Death, horcuxes, and the Lazarus pit."

"I understand most of those, but what are those last two?"

"Horcruxes are a dark magic from another world. The ability to kill someone and split your soul to become immortal. Horrible creations but fortunately not found here." Kent explains "A Lazarus pit is more like a small pond of a special kind of liquid that rejuvenates, heals, and corrupts a mortal's body and mind. In theory you could use it to live forever. They are found all across this world but yet they elude even me."

Naruto narrowed his eyes slightly at the longing in his voice "Hoping to live forever?"

He got a humorless chuckle in response "No," Kent opened his locket and gave it a longing look "I once wanted the magic of those pits for my own selfish desires but they were never meant to make myself immortal. But now, seeing what you two want to use one of them for…I find that I have a chance to help you both and find one of them before my time comes."

"Watashitachi ga nanika dekiru koto ga aru baai, watashitachiha, anata no tasuke ni kansha shimasu-" (1) Kent holds up his hand to cut Katana off.

"That won't be necessary. Given my age, you'd be happy to help without needing a reward."

Naruto couldn't help but snort at the old comment. The old men he knew had certain traits that he believed were true tests of their ability to not die so easily. Kakashi, Jiraiya, even the old man had one thing in common besides their strength, age, and love of the village: a love for anything involving Icha-Icha. Naruto shook his head with a fond smile, silently thanking Kami and any other gods out there that he had not inherited that quality. Especially with his current partner/babysitter present.

"Let's stay focused here you two," Naruto says getting a chuckle from Kent and a glare from Katana "You wouldn't happen to have some way to locate the nearest one, would you?"

"A location spell would work, and would be needed if I hadn't already located a few over time." At the curious looks he explained "I have encountered a few individuals who have required either the Pits to heal themselves of something not normally encountered or have been using their magic to prolong their life span," At the suspicious look that Naruto was giving him Kent elaborates "Yes I have not actually seen a Lazarus Pit but I have located them in the past. Satisfied?"

' **I get the distinct feeling that we won't like the sounds of this'** Kurama speaks up having gone through the fine details that Naruto seemed to have overlooked **'This Kent is not one to underestimate nor should he be an enemy of ours kit. Old geezer knows more than he has shared.'**

"What's the catch?" Naruto asks for his unseen partner.

Kent gave a shrug "I do not know if we will run into any form of 'interference' on our journey. The Pit that I know of is located in Asia, in the Himalaya's to be precise. And if I am not mistaken this one in particular is monitored, or at least the trail up the mountain is, from a nearby village."

"So all we have to do is scale one of the most dangerous mountain ranges on the planet, not be spotted by anyone, survive the terrain, and locate a pool of magic water…." Naruto gave Katana a nervous glance as he finished listing off their to-do list "Sure, sounds simple enough."

"Splendid." Kent grabbed his walking stick "Just put your hand on my shoulder and for your safety do not let go."

"What happens if we do?"

Kent looked thoughtful for a moment, like he was contemplating just what crazy thing could happen to Naruto in the next few seconds "You'll just have a pleasant date with gravity I suppose."

"Wait wha-" Kent cut off Naruto's question and future protest by slamming his cane down. The spell he used for their transportation engulfing the trio in light before they vanished in a flash.

 **Nepal; 12:05 am, October 29** **th** **, 2016**

"-t." upon arrival Naruto, having already begun to move on instinct, slipped and fell into a pile of snow. When he stuck his head out and had to shake his head to get rid of most of the snow Katana and Kent chuckled at his predicament. "Very funny, so where are we now?"

"Nepal, I put us just off the beaten path and closer to the actual Pit." Kent checked his watch "I'd say it should be spring or summer here now. Sorry if I don't know for certain, never had much reason to research this region of the world. Shame that, we might run into a blizzard or a yeti up here."

"Yeti?" Katana asked as she helped Naruto to his feet.

"Yes, big white furred monster, pity that they are seen as vicious though. They are mostly reclusive in nature."

Naruto dusted himself off, Kurama still howling in his head "That's great old man, but can we focus on our job here?"

"Right, right, if you both will follow me?" Kent motioned to a slightly visible path in the snow "I have a heating spell on my clothes that extends just a bit away from the body, stay close and you both should be warm enough."

"Should be?" Katana gave Naruto a look to which the blonde shinobi shrugged in response.

"Don't look at me," he says as the pair follow the old magic man "I won't tell anyone about this if you don't."

The trio walked for what felt like hours in the snow. Naruto was starting to wish he were in the Land of Spring before it had spring. No evil shinobi, warlords, trains, or life or death battles to be fought. Just snow, wind, and more snow.

"If I never see snow again it will be too soon" he grumbles as he tries to keep up with Katana and Kent. The old man was having no trouble trudging through the snow it seems-probably due to a spell-while Katana was able to just stay within range of his heating spell.

' _ **You could always try using some of your chakra.'**_

'I could, but then I might spoil the surprise.'

' _ **So you do sense them…are they Wallers?'**_

Naruto looked up ahead at his companions 'If they are, Katana and I are going to have a long chat about backstabbing team mates.'

Kent stopped by a small cave. The aging magician looked back at his unofficial 'sidekicks', if that is what the young and new heroes call them, as they huddled around him for warmth. "This is as far as we can go I'm afraid. Any further and we run the risk of revealing our intentions to outsiders."

"So I was right," Naruto's statement got a confused glance from Katana "We were being followed."

Kent gave a slight nod "Indeed. If you wouldn't mind, I think that our guests are preparing something for us."

Katana drew her sword as Naruto pulled out a kunai. The pair turned their backs to Kent and scanned the area for movement. Due to his heightened senses and training Naruto could pick out three...no, four individuals. They were spacing themselves out not unlike some shinobi cells would in this situation. Perfect.

"They aren't used to us it seems."

"Oh? And just why is that?"

Naruto spun the kunai in his hand "Four of them against the three of us. If they knew anything about Katana they would have brought more and if they knew about me, we wouldn't be seeing as much snow y'know."

' _ **You are doing it again'**_

Naruto thumped the side of his head. The motion was only understood by his tenant but provided enough of a perceived opening for their four followers. The four assailants vanished from their positions in the snow. Kent didn't bother turning around as he erected a bubble of energy around himself and Katana as several kunai and shuriken bounced off it.

"Looks like your friend is quite the character." The grin on his face threw Katana off "I think it best if you just look for yourself."

Outside of their little bubble one of their four attackers lay in the snow with a kunai sticking out of his back. To the right Katana could see two Naruto's fighting against the other three ambushers. A third burst from the snow behind one of their attackers, dragging the poor individual down under the white blankets.

"Hmm…is he usually this aggressive?"

Katana shook her head as Naruto or his clone shoved a hand encased in electricity into his opponent's chest. "He is…calm?"

"I hope for the future of your relationship he is, Inza would have my head if I were ever this aggressive with my enemies."

"Inza?"

Kent chuckled "Inza was my wife. Spirited even in her old age," he gave a sad sigh "I do miss her dearly. You remind me of her in a way, you don't look the type to let him get away with anything."

She looks away, focusing on the fight and thankful for the mask and years of hiding her emotions. Watching her blond partner's movements in battle was interesting as always. This time however he appeared to be bored with his opponents. Granted they were of a higher caliber than Poison Ivy but compared to Naruto they were most likely…Genin.

Naruto yawned as he blocked a strike on his right then kneed the so called assassin in the chest with enough force to break a few ribs. The precise blow was more than enough to leave a sizeable dent in the ribcage, puncture the lungs and possibly have stopped the heart but Naruto and Kurama were not the best medics.

' **Still think that they are simple pushovers?'**

Naruto rolled his eyes, dispersing his clones so he could try and enjoy what was left of his assailants 'Hardly, they barely have the speed of an experienced Genin, and their taijutsu is lacking.'

' **Something doesn't feel right about this,'** Kurama grumbles in his mind **'Four guards for something like this? Whoever is protecting it is either distracted, overconfident or an idiot.'**

Naruto shrugged jumping over his opponents he nails each one like the first in the back with a kunai. He sighs as the snow and wind picks up around them "Nothing for it now…except to move forward."

Kent raised his cane and brought it back down, the winds receding with the motion. "If you are done enjoying nature we have a job to do." He reminds the shinobi "Or would you rather stay here and freeze?"

(linebreak)

Entering the cave Kent lead his two companions deep into the dark depths. Naruto felt like a cornered animal as they got deeper. It was quiet, and wet—he slipped slightly and had to stab a kunai into the frozen wall beside him to steady himself—but it was a relatively short trip. Besides the constant sound of water dripping from the ceiling.

"If I go crazy in here I blame you." He grumbles covering his ears. Kent just laughed, the shinobi growling out curses under his breath which in turn had Katana reprimanding him.

' _ **Keep it up, she might just be your new Sakura.'**_

'Like I need that.' He thought unsettled by such a thought 'Last thing I need is a girl to worry about.'

' _ **Oh? Are you sure that isn't the other way around? After what happened with your most recent relationship…'**_

Naruto gripped the kunai in his hand tightly, knuckles turning white. Even when Katana elbowed his side to get his attention he showed no sign of his true emotions. Just a mask.

"Here we are." Kent scans the edges of the pool "If you have any idea what it is that you need to do best get to it, I do not think it wise to stay longer than is required."

Naruto steps towards the pool of green. Pulling out a small scroll he unseals a brush and ink. Using what he can spare of his focus Naruto begins creating the seals they will require: barrier seals for when they leave, a partially complete Reaper Death Seal to call forth the Shinigami while working with a modified chakra suppression seal that should hopefully deal with the Lazarus Pit's rejuvenation effects.

"This should work," he says handing the finished seal to Kent "I'd suggest not pissing off this particular Death God, we have…a history, you could say."

"Have a knack for annoying Gods?" Kent asks with a chuckle as he begins to channel his energy into the seal "Interesting system here… Oh yes, this will do just fine for our goal." He levitates the paper in the air, raising his cane then bringing it down once against the cave floor. The sealing paper burns up but the symbols remain, growing larger in the air as the ghostly shape of a demonic spirit emerges from the center. Head full of white shaggy hair, body covered in purple skin and two red horns poking out through his hair.

Naruto tensed slightly at the God's appearance. He felt its eyes on him, narrowing his own as the god removed its tanto from its mouth revealing the sharp teeth inside. The Death God raised its head to look at the aging magician **"Why have you summoned me here, mortal?"** it's voice was like gravel, col enough to freeze the air around them, yet rough enough to keep them from drifting into a death-like trance **"You are not my favored…nor are you from my domain."**

Kent cleared his throat "I apologize Lord Shinigami; my name is Kent Nelson, I am the last bearer of Doctor Fate, my companions and I are honored to be graced by your presence."

The God scoffs at the placating manner **"Mortals!"** he growls **"Always quick to butter us up, speak your desires lest I feed on your souls for this."**

Naruto gave a growl of his own, Kurama holding him back both mentally and physically. The Shinigami was a cruel god to be sure. Payment for summoning him always being the soul of the Summoner but given that they didn't technically use the full seal he would starve tonight.

Kent tugged at his shirt collar. Past dealings with godly entities were usually more pleasant and not so…blunt. Then again the Shinto side of the pantheons had rarely been heard of in this world, and Doctor Fate despite his long existence had only had dealings with the Goddess Amaterasu and she at least was kinder than the Shinigami appeared to be. "You see my Lord, we seek your help with a small task and in exchange we will help you as well."

" **You wish to serve me?"**

"Not serve," Kent shakes his head "Merely…assist in the capture of certain souls by removing their methods of life."

" **Go on."**

Kent motions Katana to step forward. The swordsman does so with slight trepidation before unsheathing her blade and presenting it to the god. "In that blade, are the souls of its victims, dead to be sure but not at rest. What we ask is that you remove just one soul in particular."

The God laughs **"And in exchange for this you help me hunt down souls who have escaped their judgment?"**

"Precisely, though it is our intention to do so by handing over something of equal value to this one life," Kent gestures to the pit behind the Death God "A Lazarus Pit here for starters, then the rest as we find them."

Shinigami turns to admire the pit. One Lazarus pit would wreak havoc on the living world, thus is why they were cursed gifts for mortals foolish enough to use them for too long. Rejuvenation almost so perfect that it could revive the dead…of course no one had been foolish enough to test it out just yet but the madness that would follow with repeated use and exposure was something few had withstood throughout history.

"I shall agree with the terms" Shinigami says rather composed "However, I believe that for this endeavor to be prove fruitful for both parties involved I ask that you offer a single soul to the Collective as an added bonus."

Naruto clenched his fists tight, knuckles turning white as his eyes became slits. Of course there would be a catch with this God. "What do you want?"

The god's eyes bore into the shinobi with an intense ferocity behind them as he pierced Naruto's body down to his very soul **"Uzumaki."** The single word chilled the air **"You of all should know what I can do to mortals who offend me. I am only here because you have given this old man my seal, if you speak out of turn again I will accept your soul as payment along with your tenant."**

The threat while held with little real weight was enough to silence the blonde from any more outbursts lest he find himself needing to be revived by the pit. He backed off, begrudgingly, from the god.

" **I shall accept the Pit as payment for what you want, but future assistance from the Collective will require more in addition to the soul of one particular troublemaker."**

"And who might that be Lord Shinigami?"

" **Ra's al Ghul."**

The name didn't strike anything to Naruto or Katana. Kent however seemed grim, a serious look on his face as he frowns in thought "Yes, that can be arranged though it may take some time to achieve with him. We humbly accept those terms."

Shinigami holds a hand out towards Katana. "Give me the blade, and I shall remove the soul that you so desperately wish to save."

Naruto had to bite his tongue to refrain from snapping at the god of death to be a little politer. He hated working with this god. In his home world the gods were revered for great reason, Amaterasu, Susanoo, Shinigami etc. His problem with the three mentioned was that two were only truly mentioned as techniques of the Uchiha clan and had been a pain for him to deal with earlier in life while the death god was the only true god to piss him off. His parents, Lord Third, the bastard was used most recently a few months before his departure.

As the blade is grasped in his hand the god admires it for a moment. Feeling each soul that lay unclaimed by a member of his collective for so many years. The woman wanted one soul in particular, that of her deceased husband. It was a simple matter for a ghostly hand to reach inside the blade and remove the soul in question. **"The deed is done,"** he hands the sword back to its owner **"I shall inform the collective of our new partnership, do not fail us mortals for we will not be so forgiving of a failure of this level."**

They watched, some in awe others in silent rage, as the god's appearance fades into nothing. Growing clearer in a way, transparent, before fading from view. The once green water of the Lazarus Pit slowly changes into blackness. The magical properties corrupted by the Death God. Their mission was complete it would seem.

"I think it best that we finish up here and then return to the Tower." Kent says finally composing himself enough after meeting with a Death God. "What say you kid; think you can wrap this up?"

Naruto gives a roll of his eyes. He didn't need to be told what to do now, clones were easy to make for him and they too knew to get to work quickly. Within minutes of finalizing the sealing array preventing anyone from entering or leaving by normal means Kent brought his cane down once more.

 **Tower of Fate, Louisiana; 5:15 am, October 29** **th** **2016**

Naruto was prepared this time for the teleportation. He didn't stumble or fall, though he did have to steady Katana as she was ported with an armchair in her way and nearly fell upon arrival. That was one event that had Kurama howling with laughter in a way for the position the two were now in, the samurai held in the shinobi's arms as if he were dipping her during a dance. Even the old fossil of a man was chuckling as they stood up and separated themselves for the time being.

"One of these days I am going to kill that man." He grumbles as Kent keeps chuckling at them.

"Dōjō." (2)

"Oh come now, would you two really want to hurt a defenseless old man?"

Naruto gives the sorcerer a dry look "You are far from defenseless, personal experience says you are highly capable despite your age."

Kent gave a shrug. Kids these days could learn a thing or two about respecting their elders. The blonde in particular would need several life time's worth of training in that regard. He checks his pocket watch, smiling as his two guests have slightly settled down before opening his mouth to speak again "You both may want to get back to your own homes, given the time and that you haven't called any friends or relatives I can assume that they might be upset with you both for this."

Naruto gave a careless wave of his hand, for which Katana elbowed him sharply. "Right…we'll get going now."

' _ **Whipped'**_

'Shut up!'

"Sometimes I think you live to punish me." He grumbles to Katana as they are escorted out of the Tower of Fate.

"You make it too easy." She replies in her accented English.

Naruto crosses his arms, pouting though he would deny it. 'Make a mental note Kurama: Get her a translation seal and set it to small child voice.'

' _ **She will murder you for that kit.'**_

'Still would be worth it though.'

XXXXX

"You summoned me?"

The speaker was shrouded in shadow. The room itself cloaked in perpetual darkness as the only light came from two burning torches hanging on the wall on either side of a kneeling man. The man was well built, wearing a green ornamental ensemble with a pair of curved swords by his side. This man was Ra's al Ghul, the literal head of the demon and the League of Shadows.

"I did, assassin." He regards the man before him "I have received word that one of my Lazarus Pits has been found, and…sealed. In addition, a small group of my own assassins have been killed in battle. You wouldn't happen to know who did this, would you?"

The man gives a dark chuckle and pulls out a PDA, handing it to a servant he replies "Yes, his name is currently unknown to me but I believe you will find what he can do to be most intriguing."

Ra's accepts the PDA with a raised brow, the servant stepping away from his master as he watches several short clips of what this newcomer can do "He is clearly an assassin but these moves…. how long have you been watching him?"

"Since his arrival in Jump City. He has already proven himself to be a professional, none of his moves show any sign of weakness however…his most recent venture that I witnessed in New Orleans was intriguing due to the restrictions he was clearly operating under."

"So he is a 'hero' then? A pity, for one so gifted to be restrained in such a way."

"Indeed."

Ra's hands the PDA back to his servant "Now, this changes things, at first I wanted to know if it was you who killed my own but after seeing this…assassin, I wish for you to do something for me."

"Of course, what does the Master wish of me?"

"Find this assassin, recruit him if you can into our fold by any means," Ra's orders.

"And should he refuse?"

Ra's grins at the man as he steps into the light "Terminate him."

The man bowed his head. Body covered in metal armor plating a sword sheathed on his back, two pistols located at the waist. He wore a black and orange mask with a single hole for his left eye to see through "It will be done."

Ra's watched the Terminator as he left his chamber. Centuries of planning was about to come to fruition in a few short years, but this new piece on the board could be a problem. Neither black or white, good or evil, the new player could tip the scales for and against both sides. With the snap of his fingers his servant stepped forward. "Send out a message to our agents, they are to return immediately, all current missions are to be either completed in a swift manner or dropped for the time being."

"Where shall they assemble Master?"

"Have them meet in our base in Kyoto, at the seat of the emperor." Ra's gave a slight pause "And arrange a meeting with Mr. Savage. We have much to discuss."

 **AN: I know this is not the best work for a chapter. That is my fault, some things came up that I could not prevent and others that I should have were not. About the 'Collective' I have taken the liberty of not seeing if this exists as I was more focused on the story itself and not the continuity for once, the Collective is essentially a council consisting of the Death Gods of every religion. Hades, Shinigami, Anubis, Hel, etc. Thanatos is also on this list as would any grim reaper. What I did with the soul in the sword, freeing Katana's husband, I intended to do from the start of the idea phase for this fic. Doing it now seemed logical as it provided me with a way to set up for the first major clash for Naruto vs Deathstroke along with setting up the ground work should the majority want Katana/Naruto…. or however you write the pairing. Fights won't be as dull or one-sided in the future. Hint for the next few chapters: I intended to bring in something big, and at least a bit challenging for the League to beat as we have seen once or twice in the cartoon….gl. Oh! And now we have our first main villain for Naruto introduced officially.**

1\. We appreciate your help, if there is anything we can do

2\. Ditto


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